Code Sekirei
by Sir Cameron Dragic
Summary: The Demon Emperor, Lelouch vi Britannia, finds himself reborn in the Sekirei universe as an Ashikabi, with the potential to change the course of history and the Sekirei Plan
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Death was…cold, Lelouch noted as he felt his world descend into darkness, drowning out the desperate cries of Nunnally, whose grip was the only sensation he could feel besides an overwhelming cold that chilled his entire system. Weakly, he tilted his head upwards, taking in the sight of the world for the last time.

As he looked up at the sky, pale and clear, he suddenly felt a strange calmness and clarity of the mind. His body completely relaxed, and he allowed himself to shift to a more comfortable position, looking straight up at the endless sky. It was as if his body had accepted the truth. The truth that he was going to die, and that he could do nothing but to delay the inevitable.

For some strange reason, he felt relieved, and, his body was no longer freezing cold, but instead, strange warmth had overtaken him. He had heard once that just before freezing to death, people suddenly felt warmth. It faintly registered somewhere in his mind that he must be experiencing the same feeling. But it was currently the farthest thing from his mind, which was now preoccupied with how beautiful the sky was.

It was the strangest thing, but he could not recall anything, as if the only thing he had known was the fact that he was lying face up, staring up at the sky while the world cursed his name.

His mind and body were completely at ease with the situation, and Lelouch found that he was smiling as he weakly closed his eyes for the last time, engulfing his vision in darkness as he took his last breath. His chest came to a complete stop, heart no longer beating, and it was official.

Lelouch vi Britannia was dead.

Or, at least, that's how it seemed to the rest of the world, which was in the middle of radical upheaval over the shocking assassination of the Demon Emperor.

To Lelouch, it was as if he had just taken a nap, or something like that as he opened his eyes to find himself very much alive and well, puncture wound nowhere to be found and pain invisible. Shocked at the abrupt change that had come over his body, he frantically patted around his stomach, desperate to find the stab wound that Suzaku had left with his sword, but found that it was gone, as if it had never existed.

It was at this moment that Lelouch became aware of his surroundings, which were very familiar. He was staring at a gray mass of writhing blobs that he recognized as the collective unconscious. They formed a large column that shot up from the ground all the way to the pastel orange sphere of Jupiter that hung ominously over the entire scene.

And more noticeable than all of that, a single figure stood in between Lelouch and the collective unconscious. It was a thin old man, with wrinkled skin and wispy locks of shoulder length hair that were completely white, referencing his age. However, despite his weak appearance, his bluish grey eyes were powerful, holding untold wisdom and strength within. He was dressed in a reddish brown tunic, accompanied by a red cape that he had wrapped around his entire figure.

"Second chances aren't given out freely. They're earned. You've earned yours by being so universally despised that you have been banished by this universe and are going to be sent to another." He said cryptically, in a booming voice that threatened to tear apart the Sword of Akasha with its sheer power, not at all what Lelouch had been expecting from such an unimposing figure.

"Who are you?" Lelouch asked defiantly in the face of the intimidating display put up by the old man, stepping forward in order to assert his own small and insignificant sounding voice against the older man's.

"I am Charon, the ferryman of the Gods. I have the assignment to ferry you out of this universe into another, where you can atone for your sins without disturbing the Gods." He replied, temple walls shaking as he did so.

"Atone for my sins? So am I going to hell?" Lelouch asked, desperate for answers to the phenomenon he was currently experiencing.

"No. Upon death, most join the Gods and continue the same roles that they held in life. However, for a case such as yours, the Gods have no intention of allowing you to join them. Instead, you will be deported to another universe where you have not aggravated their respective Gods." Charon replied coldly.

"Now then, come quietly, or I will forcibly remove you from this universe." He added, stepping aside to reveal a small wooden rowboat that seemed to be just large enough to hold one passenger.

* * *

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

At the third repetition of a soft beeping, Lelouch's eyes snapped open, instantly assaulted by a bright light that nearly blinded him, forcing him to blink his eyes in pain, as the beeping increased its pace until it was frenetic. In addition, he tightly gripped a fistful of a rough fabric and drove his head backwards into a resistant pillow that kept him tilted slightly upwards. As his pupils slowly adjusted to the brightness, the room he was currently lying in came into focus.

It was a hospital room, bright and white, perfectly clean, much like the hospitals of Pendragon which he was used to. He was currently lying in a hospital bed, with an IV attached to his arm, and a futuristic looking heart monitor right next to the bed, explaining the beeping from earlier. Groggily, he lifted his upper body up, feeling his tight muscles loosen slightly at the movement.

To his surprise, he suddenly felt exhausted by the action and was forced to ease himself back down onto his comfortably hard pillow.

"All right then, time to do the daily readings." He heard a feminine voice suddenly say as the door of his room was eased open, revealing a woman in a white nurse's uniform. In her hands was a clipboard, which was promptly dropped as soon as the nurse noticed his gaze.

"You're awake!" She exclaimed before ducking down to pick up her dropped clipboard.

"I'll get the doctor right away!" She said quickly before she dashed out of the room.

Lelouch groaned as he felt a sudden weariness overtake his body from his previous actions and was forced onto his back once more. His mind was hazy, almost as if he were in some sort of dream. However, he instinctively knew that he was not dreaming, and that it was all real.

As he slowly regained his senses and bearings, the memories ebbed back into his mind. He had been ferried out of his universe to another, or at least, that is what Charon had informed him. That meant that he was never going to see Nunally ever again, or the world that he had helped mold. On one hand, he had expected a punishment along those lines, but on the other, it still made him feel empty, to know that he was never going to see his younger sister again, and that his final memory of her would be her tear stained face as she fruitlessly begged him to live.

The very thought of her expression made him shudder in agony.

His thoughts were interrupted by the soft squeaking of boots against a freshly waxed floor as the nurse returned, doctor in tow.

"So, it looks like you've finally woken up from your coma." The doctor, who was a kindly looking man in his late thirties, observed after being handed the nurse's clipboard.

"How long was I out?" Lelouch asked, still confused by the whole situation.

"It seems that you have been in this hospital for just about a month now. Today would be your thirtieth day since you were admitted." The doctor replied, glancing at the clipboard to ascertain more facts.

"Besides that, it seems that your care was completely paid for by the Chairman of MBI, who left explicit instructions to resuscitate you as quickly as possible." He added, leaning down to hang the clipboard at the foot of Lelouch's bed.

"Did he give any reasons for that?" Lelouch asked, having absolutely no idea who the doctor could be talking about, or even what MBI was.

"All that I know is that he swung by to check the blood samples of all of our patients, and once he saw yours, he immediately paid for your care and left those instructions. Sorry, but that's all I know." The doctor answered, offering as much help as he could.

"Thank you for what information you provided me. It'll be invaluable in the future." Lelouch sighed, disappointed at the lack of information about his mysterious benefactor.

With a grunt, he attempted to swing his legs out of the bed, succeeding besides some difficulty. He felt his bare feet graze the cool tiled floors of the hospital before he lifted all of his weight out of the bed, managing to stand on his own strength for a moment before he suddenly felt weary and fell backwards onto the bed.

"What's wrong with me?" Lelouch groaned in pain.

"After being in a coma, your body has atrophied. It isn't too severe since you awoke today, but you'll need a while to regain your strength. Still, now that you're conscious, I think we can take you off of the IV and get you moving around in a wheelchair." The doctor explained, nodding to the nurse, who left the room and returned, wheeling in a wheelchair.

Lelouch gritted his teeth in anger at his own body for being too weak to fully support itself, but if he wanted to get answers, he would have to deal with it for now and recover. For the time being, he was still confined to his bed while his body slowly recovered from its prolonged inactivity.

* * *

Lelouch stared down a tray of unappetizing pasta, unsure whether it was even edible before he decided to whet his appetite with a sip of water. He reached a hand to the bottle of water and twisted the cap, hearing it snap off, allowing him access inside. Taking a swig of water, he took a moment to look around him at the other patients currently using the cafeteria.

All around him, patients were dressed in pure white hospital gowns that melded with the insanely bright cafeteria, which was decorated in a fairly modern style and offered an outside view with several large windows that replaced a majority of the walls. Lelouch couldn't shake the feeling that he was in some sort of lab, with all of the insanely sanitized and bright rooms that the hospital consisted of. Above all else, it seemed cold and depressing, without any sort of life inside, as most of the patients were weakly shuffling around, afflicted with all sorts of illnesses.

He supposed that he hadn't been any different. After all, he had essentially been ready to die, and it was almost as if he had been living with some sort of terminal illness, one that was constantly threatening and hanging over him. If not for the fact that he had a goal to accomplish, he would have gladly welcomed death once he had regained his memories and broken his father's Geass. He was essentially a husk, one that was merely driven by his purpose of creating a better world for Nunnally, and nothing else. And when even that was taken away by her dream of restoring the Special Administrative Zone of Japan, he had nothing but death to look forward to.

And now, it was as if he were given a second chance, although he knew that this was essentially his punishment. He was fated to live out his life, unable to ever see Nunnally, or C.C., or anyone else he had known in his own universe ever again.

Sighing, he grabbed the stale bread roll that had come with his meal and took a bite out of it, noting that it was bland and flavorless as he did so. Resolving to wash the taste out of his mouth, he took a deep swig of water and screwed the cap back onto the bottle before he set it down.

"Sorry, is this seat taken?"

Lelouch swiveled his head to see a young girl with light brown hair being wheeled into the empty spot next to him at his wheelchair accessible table. She was on the pale side, with large hazel eyes and a face with soft features. Her body, currently confined to a wheelchair as well, seemed extremely fragile and frail, instantly giving him flashes of Nunally, right down the dress that she was wearing accompanied by a large hat that she kept in her lap.

"Oh, no. Please, sit, er…" Lelouch stuttered, realizing that they were both already seated.

"Don't worry about it." The girl giggled as the nurse who wheeled her to the table walked away to attend to another patient.

"Right." Lelouch replied, returning to his food, which he reluctantly took a bite of, chewing quickly and swallowing the mess of overcooked pasta and under seasoned tomato sauce. It wasn't exactly the best thing he had ever tasted, but it was food, and he was ravenous after waking up. As he showveled another forkful of pasta, the girl decided to speak up.

"My name is Chiho." She said cheerfully, despite her weak appearance.

"Lelouch." He replied with his mouth still full of food. He suddenly realized that he must have looked ridiculous in that moment, and his fears were confirmed as Chiho began laughing at his appearance.

At the sight of her laughing face, so vibrant and full of life, unlike most of the faces he had seen lately, he couldn't help but to join in on the laughing once he forcibly swallowed his mouthful of pasta.

They were drawing stares from the other patients in the cafeteria, but in that moment, Lelouch didn't care. It felt good to just cut loose and relax a bit, especially after everything that had passed with the Zero Requiem. It made him feel alive again for a second, vastly different from the resignation of death he had lived with for the past few months.

"I haven't laughed like that in a long time." He remarked once they had calmed down and caught their breaths.

"Really? That's terrible." Chiho replied with a frown on her face.

"Well, I was ready to die for the longest time, so that didn't really leave any room to enjoy myself." Lelouch said with a shrug.

"I think that's a waste of time. We should just enjoy whatever time we have in this world, and leave the worrying for later." Chiho said, shaking her head.

"So why exactly are you in the hospital right now?" Lelouch asked.

"I have a virus. Right now, they say it's incurable, and all they can do for now is to slow the infection." Chiho admitted, her voice suddenly losing some of its vigor and life.

"I'm sorry." Lelouch said awkwardly, turning his head back down to face his meal.

Chiho smiled weakly, covering up her previous expression, "No, don't be. I've made a friend here, so it isn't all bad."

Lelouch's eyebrows arched at her words, "A friend?"

"Yeah. When I first saw her, I thought that she was a beautiful bird since she was flying around in the air, but it turns out that she was actually a person. It must have been nice, to be able to fly around." Chiho sighed, making it evident that she was jealous.

"I'm sure you'll be able to fly around and be free someday too." Lelouch said, feeling that it was the right thing to say in this situation.

"Same for you." Chiho replied with a genuine smile on her face.

"Right." Lelouch nodded, turning away so that she wouldn't be able to see the blush that had instinctively come over his face.

"Say, would you like to meet my friend? I'm sure that meeting her will brighten up your day too." Chiho asked after a moment of shared silence.

"Sure, I guess it couldn't hurt."Lelouch said, shrugging his shoulders.

"All right then, follow me." Chiho whispered, deftly pushing her wheelchair backwards and twirling it so that it faced the exit of the cafeteria.

Struggling to do the same, Lelouch tried to wheel himself out in the same manner, but ended up only trapping himself further as he attempted to turn his wheelchair to face the exit as well.

"Here, let me help." Chiho offered, placing her hand on top of Lelouch's so that she could guide it along. Lelouch opened his mouth to protest, but as he saw the sympathetic look that was in Chiho's eyes, he found that he could not reject her assistance.

Instead, he allowed her smaller hand, with smooth yet experienced fingers to gently instruct his own calloused and weathered fingers. Too focused on the sensation of her skin rubbing up against his own, Lelouch didn't realize that he had managed to free himself until Chiho waved a hand in front of his face.

"Are you okay?" She asked worriedly, noticing that Lelouch had seemingly spaced out.

"Oh, no, I'm fine!" He quickly reassured, regaining his composure with a deep breath.

"Come on then. We have to slip out before the nurses notice." Chiho said urgently, gesturing that Lelouch should follow her as she quickly wheeled herself forward, forcing him to push himself to his limits to just keep up with her torrid pace. She effortlessly weaved through the waves of patients and nurses patrolling the halls of the hospital until they reached the front doors, which slid open automatically at their presence, revealing the sun in all of its warmth and glory.

"All right, it's out beyond the parking lot." Chiho said while she pointed at a row of trees in the distance. At this, she immediately began propelling herself forward at her original pace. With some difficulty, Lelouch managed to keep pace, although he was still a comfortable distance behind Chiho.

Eventually, they reached the row of trees which were nestled closely together and whose shade offered them some shelter from the sun, which was now up at its highest point. Relieved that he would not be doing any more pushing, Lelouch slumped into his chair, exhausted.

"All right, the doctors can't see us from the hospital since the trees cover us, so we can stay out here as long as we want to." Chiho told Lelouch as she picked up the hat she had in her lap and placed it above her head.

Lelouch nodded and looked up at the green leaves and closed his eyes, just listening to the rustling of branches and the faint sounds of birds chirping as they whizzed around in the air. It felt nice to be out of the oppressive atmosphere of the hospital, and instead, in the open and relaxed atmosphere of nature. Now he understood exactly why Chiho longed to be free as well.

For a moment, he forgot all about the Zero Requiem, Geass, or anything from his past world. All that he could think of in this moment was the fact that he was alone with Chiho, listening to the sounds of the forest while the sun shined down on them.

"Ah, Uzume, you're here!" He suddenly heard Chiho remark from beside him, and immediately, his eyes snapped open to see an extremely buxom and beautiful woman dressed in a small pink shirt adorned with a large star and Capri jeans. She had long brown hair that was rather unkempt, with random strands of hair sticking up in random places, although it only added to her beauty in this case.

"Hello Chiho!" The woman responded cheerfully, before she suddenly noticed Lelouch's presence.

"Umm, who is this?" Uzume asked, pointing at Lelouch.

"This is Lelouch. I met him today at lunch and I invited him to come meet you." Chiho explained.

"Nice to meet you, Uzume." Lelouch greeted, giving her a little wave.

"Er, nice to meet you." Uzume replied, keeping the majority of her attention on Chiho as she did so.

"Sorry I didn't bring any costumes today. I figured that we could just talk instead today." Uzume apologized to Chiho, who put her hands up.

"It's no problem. I like to just sit and talk sometimes." Chiho said, doing her best to make sure that Uzume didn't think that she was disappointed or anything.

Nodding, Uzume crossed to Chiho and effortlessly lifted the girl out of her wheelchair, surprising Lelouch with the ease with which she did so. Gingerly, Uzume set down Chiho on the grass next to her before she hopped over to Lelouch.

He felt her thin arms wrap around his figure before they suddenly flexed and easily lifted him out of the chair as well, despite his larger figure. Uzume delicately placed Lelouch on the grass next to Chiho, while he uttered a word of thanks.

"So, Lelouch, isn't this nice?" Chiho asked, breathing a deep whiff of clean air.

"Yeah, it is." He replied softly, enjoying the sensation of the small blades of grass rubbing up against his fingers. With a relaxed sigh, he lay down on his back, looking straight up at the clear blue sky, his mind clearing of its worries and preoccupations.

For a moment, he felt a faint memory come to his mind, of the Aries Villa and of his childhood summers spent out under the same blue sky, only with different circumstances and people. And although he had not planned on it, he was quickly reminded of the fact that he was here with Chiho, and not Nunnally, as he wished he was.

At the reminder that he was separated from his beloved sister, and he would likely be so for the rest of his life, Lelouch felt a certain emptiness within his heart that ate away at the moment of bliss that he had felt for the moment.

He could not, and he would not forget about his past, no matter the circumstance. However, as he peered over at Chiho, who had seemingly fallen asleep during their silence, and watched as her soft features were completely at peace, only disturbed for a moment as a green leaf landed gently on her face, forcing her to scrunch her cute nose for a moment while the waxy leaf appendage slid off of her nose, Lelouch felt the pain within lessen, if only for just a moment.

Maybe he could learn to love this new universe, in due time.

* * *

**This is just something that I've had written for a while and I felt like posting eventually. There's no guarantee when I'll continue this, but if I get enough reviews, I'll probably continue on soon. Until then, thanks for reading, and feel free to leave your thoughts, either in the form of a review or a PM! Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed and followed this story! I have never gotten a response quite like this before, and it's really empowering to know that so many are willing to read my work, so thanks! **

**Also, if you guys don't know, lately I've been recommending some music to listen to while reading my stories, as I feel like the experience of literature can only be amplified by an external stimulus like music. Right now, I've been absolutely addicted to listening to Something Corporate, so I would recommend Konstantine off of their album Songs for Silent Movies. Just a suggestion, so feel free to disregard it.**

**Without any further ado, please enjoy the continuation of Code Sekirei!**

* * *

Chapter 2

_"No!" Lelouch's eyes widened in surprise as he felt Kallen's hand strike him across the face, sending him staggering backwards at the force of the hit. He gently touched a hand to the stinging cheek, wincing a bit in pain as the flesh turned a bright hue of pink, blood rushing to the area to repair the damage that had been done._

_"Snap out of it Lelouch!" She demanded, tears beginning to form in her eyes as she made her impassioned cries._

_"You're Zero now! You carry the responsibility for showing us our dream! Just…keep lying, until you can't anymore!" Kallen begged, weakness beginning to permeate her voice as her on confidence was shaken by Lelouch's display. With tears beginning to stream down her face, she turned and dashed off, feet pounding against the unpaved floors of the site for the new Shinjuku Ghetto._

_Feeling guilt well up inside of him for showing such weakness, Lelouch stared bleakly at the shattered bottle of Refrain on the ground, the contents seeping into the ground and leaving nothing more than small bits of glass._

_She had been right. He did have a responsibility to carry out his plans to the very end. That was the path that he had chosen, and he was going to have to go through with it, no matter who stood in his way. If he faltered now, then he would not be the man he had proclaimed himself to be. Zero, the hero of the Japanese, could not fall now into a cycle of regret and drug abuse. He had an obligation to the people to fight until his dying breath, and fight he would._

_He almost chuckled as he nodded soberly. Why did Kallen have to be so right about everything? It was as if she were acting as his therapist or something. Funny, because for as much as she relied on him for leadership, he relied on her just as much for emotional support. If anything, he was even more dependent on her than she was on him._

_For as strong of a front he put on in the face of most obstacles, Lelouch found that he was surprisingly weak at times. Despite his fearlessness onscreen and behind the mask of Zero, he was still a normal human, with normal human fears and anxieties, and all that came with being a teenager doing his best to find his place in the world that he hoped to mold._

* * *

Lelouch awoke to find that his arms were as heavy as weights, and no matter how much he struggled, he could not lift them up. In fact, his entire body seemed to be held down by some invisible force that kept him down, despite his frenzied attempts to lift up. As beads of sweat began to form and trickle down the sides of his face, Lelouch gave up, wheezing deeply to supply oxygen to his aching muscles.

"Well, I have no idea what you did yesterday, but it seems that the activity you undertook was too much strain for your body to handle right away. You'll have to be confined to bed for the rest of the day to recover." The doctor sighed as he noticed Lelouch's futile attempts to get out of bed.

"How much longer will this keep up?" Lelouch asked, incredulous at the man's words.

"Well, things are progressing along smoothly, so you should feel well enough to move around by tomorrow, but the road to fighting muscular atrophy is not an easy one. It'll be a while before you're fully ready to move around again." The doctor replied, already motioning to leave the room, but not before stopping to open the window, so that some air could blow through the room.

As he saw the automated doors slide closed, Lelouch gritted his teeth and threw back his head in frustration. He felt so helpless in this moment, and it was frustrating, if not downright infuriating.

As Zero, and as Emperor of Britannia, he had wielded almost unlimited power. He had been the one calling the shots. At his call and beckon, he could move entire nations to wherever he wanted, as if the world was nothing more than a game of chess to him. He had once controlled the destiny of the world, and now, he was nothing more than a weakling of a patient who couldn't even get out of his hospital bed.

He wanted it to end so badly! As far as this world went, there was nothing even remotely worth staying alive for. He was severely limited physically, everyone he had ever known was gone, and he didn't even have one fraction of the power he once had as Zero. To tell the truth, to be cut off from his authority and control was a frightening experience.

Normally, he was in complete command of every situation, and nothing would happen without his word. However, now, he was nothing more than a mere pawn, a shadow of the kind he had once been, with no power, and no strength. Why would he ever want to remain in this world?

He glanced over at the open window, and instantly, the thought came to his head. It was a rash and uninformed decision, he knew. But in this moment, he was so angry, and so confused about what it was he was even supposed to do. Back in his own world, he had always known his goal, and what he was going to do to reach it. But now, he was lost, and without any sort of purpose, something that sent his head spinning as he thought more and more about it.

By now, he was completely fixated on the open space only a few yards from his bed. His fingers rapped against his sheets erratically, reflecting his frenetic state of mind. His vision narrowed, even as his mind began to wonder exactly how high of a jump would kill him, and whether or not his room was even high enough up to accomplish such a task. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to just escape it all, by any means necessary. He just wanted to go back to a place where things made sense, and where he had a sense of what he needed to do.

With a determined expression, Lelouch called upon all of his focus and willpower to rise up from his prone position. His back muscles clenched tightly as they struggled against their extreme fatigue to bend to their master's wishes, and Lelouch found that he was actually making progress. His fingers grasped the covers of his bed and pulled with all of their might, helping to lift him up so that he was bent at a ninety degree angle.

With some serious difficulty, Lelouch swung his legs out of bed and found solid footing, resolving to reach the open window. As he tried to stand up on his own two feet however, he found that there was no strength to be found in those muscles and he crumpled to the ground, banging his elbows against the tiled floor and causing Lelouch to hiss in pain as he rolled over weakly onto his back, massaging his bruised elbows.

The sweat was now a full pour, as it dampened his hair and his chest heaved up in down, trying its best to pump as much blood as possible to the starving muscles that ached in pain. However, despite the pain, despite the urge to just lay there until help came, Lelouch would not be stopped as his body once more rolled over and his pushed himself up, gripping the corner of his bedside table for support. There was only a little bit further until he reached the window.

"She'll be disappointed if you do that." A stern voice chided, and Lelouch's head jerked up to see Uzume sitting in the open window, blocking his path perfectly. She was dressed entirely differently than she had been the last time he had seen her, with large white strips of cloth acting as her only clothes, covering up some of her more necessary spots, but leaving the large majority of her skin exposed, not that Lelouch really paid it any mind.

"I…" Lelouch stammered, suddenly realizing that there was one person who did care about him in this new universe, and she was likely waiting for him even now. She was the one thing that he could understand in this world, as foreign and frightening as it was, and that was enough to give him pause.

He leaned up against the table in a way so that his legs were relieved of their duty of holding him up, "I don't know if I was seriously ready to do it. But it would have been nice to feel like I had some control over my life again like that."

"So that's what you were willing to kill yourself over? Some crazy exercise of power? Are you really that pathetic?" Uzume spat, venom in her words, burning Lelouch with the amount of disgust that he sensed in her voice.

"You don't understand! I was once a king! And now, I'm nothing. I can't even get out of bed. There's no point for me to keep on living a life like this." Lelouch retorted, his voice faltering as he went on. The truth was, even though he had been ready to give it up, he sort of loved playing the part of the hero and allowing himself the escape of Zero's costume. In there, he was beloved by everyone, and Nunnally couldn't see him for what he had really been, a liar and murderer.

Even up to his death, he had been selfish in his desires. He had played the hero, up until the very end. A few select knew the truth of the Zero Requiem, and the idea that he would be sacrificing himself for the sake of the world, like he was some twisted Christ figure had been appealing, he had to admit. True, he had wanted to make Nunnally's dream a reality, but at the same time, he wanted to do it on his terms and to play the role of savior to her.

Now, when he was stripped of all of that and left as nothing but a mere man, it was all coming out. He was no selfless hero, as he had always wanted to think of himself as. No, he was every as selfish and power hungry as those pawns that he had despised and arrogantly declared himself better than in his past life. And, at least for now, he was no longer afraid to admit it. He was ugly, in every sense, and it was clear that he could no longer hide it from the world.

"Listen to yourself!" Uzume screamed, shocking Lelouch with the ferocity at which she had yelled at him.

"I don't care how much you think that your life sucks and how the world seems to have it out for you. I've heard that before, and I don't care one bit about your own insignificant problems. But if you think that I'm just going to sit idly by while the one person who has made Chiho truly happy kills himself, then you have another thing coming!" Uzume snapped, picking up Lelouch by the throat and tossing him violently back into his bed, the mattress creaking as his body slammed into it.

"I have no idea what she sees in you, but for some reason, you make her happy. I don't care what happens to you when it's all said and done, but as long as Chiho still has time, you're going to keep her happy, got it?" Uzume asked threateningly, making it clear that Lelouch had no choice in the matter.

* * *

Following a familiar path that he had already treaded several times before, Lelouch rolled his wheelchair up to the same automatic sliding door he had rolled up to every day for the past week. He found that, as he did so, his arms were surprisingly resilient, not feeling any of the fatigue he had felt for the past few days as a result of pushing his arms past their limits, weak as they were.

He passed by a few doctors, who gave him nods of acknowledgement as they usually did when they saw him, his status as an apparently important patient already well known. As he rolled up to the familiar door, his eyes strained upwards, confirming the identity of the room's current occupant. The white card had the name, "Chiho Hidaka" printed out, giving Lelouch confidence that he had the right room before he entered.

The metal doors hissed open, sliding away to allow him access inside, an invitation that he gladly accepted, enthusiastically wheeling the chair into the room where the smaller girl was currently lying in bed, dressed in a crisp white dress that made Lelouch's eyes squint in displeasure as they adjusted to the brightness of the cloth.

Coupled with the brightness of the sun from the open window besides her bed, it seemed as if the girl was exuding some sort of heavenly glow, with her brown locks softly sweeping in the light gust of cool air that ventilated the room. The light framed her face perfectly for a moment, and Lelouch felt his mind go blank for a moment as he realized that she looked like an angel of some sort, with a warm and inviting smile on her face and her lively hazel eyes beckoning him to come closer.

"Good morning Lelouch!" Chiho greeted happily, setting down a notebook she had in her hands onto her lap so that she could wave at Lelouch, who returned the wave with equal gusto, still somewhat in a stupor.

As his head cleared and he could feel himself refocus, Lelouch replied, "Hello Chiho. What are you doing?"

"Working on some schoolwork." Chiho explained as Lelouch lifted himself out of his wheelchair, feeling his legs steady themselves for a mere moment of triumph before they buckled under his weight. With disappointment at his legs, which were still on the road to recovery, Lelouch struggled to maintain his balance long enough to stumble onto the bed, where he nearly fell on top of Chiho, if he hadn't managed to hold himself up long enough to lower himself onto the mattress with some control over his body.

As he eased himself into a seated position next to Chiho, Lelouch noticed the notebook, which was filled to the brim with notes, all taken in Chiho's neat and orderly handwriting. At this, he smiled, finding her handwriting to be entirely appropriate for her.

"So, what exactly do you do about school?" He asked, finally finding a comfortable posture next to Chiho.

"Since I can't really attend classes, the school sends me materials to work on, and I get graded by that work that I turn in." Chiho sighed, a bit of disappointment in her voice.

Lelouch felt Chiho's pain. When he had spent time moonlighting as Zero, he had been forced to abandon school for large stretches at a time. To be separated from your classmates and to try and maintain an education while extenuating circumstances kept you separated was not an easy thing to manage. That Chiho had seemingly done so well on her own was an astounding accomplishment.

"Do you want to go to school?" Lelouch asked, although he already knew the answer.

Chiho nodded softly, "I do. But it isn't all bad here. At least I have more time here to learn the material. It's not really easy, and I could use the extra time to learn it on my own."

Suddenly, Lelouch felt an idea come to him as he glanced over at the side of her bed, where a small table lay with a stack of heavy looking textbooks.

"Then, would you want me to help you?" Lelouch suggested to a wide eyed Chiho.

"Really? You would do that?" She asked excitedly, already entranced by the idea.

"Well, you've already helped me out. I suppose that I should pay you back." Lelouch replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head as he refused to meet her gaze.

"Thanks!" Chiho exclaimed, latching onto Lelouch in a tight hug that caught the older teen by complete surprise. He could feel his heartbeat quicken as he realized the fragile and thin arms surrounding his figure belonged to Chiho, who pulled away, leaving Lelouch feeling oddly cold, despite the automated temperatures of the hospital.

"Right." Lelouch cleared his throat, deciding to go straight at the first subject. He reached over and grabbed the first book he saw, placing on his lap and allowing Chiho to lean into him so that she could get a better look at the text. As her soft hair gently grazed his exposed skin, Lelouch shuddered at the sensation, struggling to stay focused on the task at hand, although it was a futile exercise, especially considering how his senses were going haywire at the moment.

"Let's start here." He said in a shaky voice, pointing his finger at the first paragraph he saw on the page, trying to ignore the fact that Chiho was obliviously driving him insane with her contact.

Chiho nodded, just happy that someone was willing to help her, "Transference is a form of projection in which the patient redirects his or her feelings about some significant person in his or her past from that person onto the therapist."

Lelouch merely nodded along, too lost in his sensations to really hear any of the words being spoken aloud. For some reason that he couldn't understand, just being in the girl's presence calmed his soul, and brought an end to the voices of doubt and fear ringing in his head. Around her, he wasn't afraid, and he wasn't confused. Her presence was like a small oasis in the desert, empty and desolate dunes of sand being broken up by a small yet powerful spring of water that cleared his mind and kept him at ease.

He didn't know why or how exactly she was affecting him like this, and frankly, he didn't care. What mattered was that he wasn't so preoccupied with his motivation, and his worries were worlds away. All that mattered was that he was here with Chiho, and there wasn't anywhere else he would rather be in that moment.

* * *

**I know that it might seem a bit out of character for Lelouch to attempt suicide, but, as I referenced in the beginning of the story, there have been times when he has shown weakness and given in to that weakness. It is true that he overcame some of that over the course of the season, but, at least in my opinion, that was due to the fact that he was confident in what his goals and motivations really were, and in Code Sekirei, at least so far, he has no idea what he wants to do with his new life. As such, I interpreted that as reason enough for him to attempt such a thing, as he is feeling lost and has no confidence in what he wants to do with life. **

**Anyways, I hope you guys understand my reasoning behind this chapter, and if you really want to understand what exactly transference is, I would look it up to find out some really fascinating information about Freudian psychology. If you want a better idea, it is sort of like a reversal of the Florence Nightingale Effect, in which the patient is the one projecting his or her feelings upon the caretaker.**

**Also, I don't want to be that guy, but I would appreciate it if you guys checked out the blog I've started writing for. It's called SushiGoKart, and I'm Kevani, so please, check out our site and give us a read while you're at it! I'm just starting out, but if you enjoy my writing and want to hear my opinion on some newer anime series, check out my reviews!**

**As usual, keep the reviews and PMs up if you guys want this story to continue! I really appreciate any and all thoughts I can get! Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, I would like to thank anyone who reviewed last week! As of right now, by any sort of metric, Code Sekirei has become the most popular story in the Code Geass and Sekirei crossover category, so thank you for the feedback, I really appreciate it! If you haven't been reading the author's notes thus far, I would advise that you do, because this one holds some importance. **

**Without further ado, please enjoy the continuation of Code Sekirei!**

* * *

Chapter 3

_Kallen turned around, her deep blue eyes boring straight into Lelouch's figure. Lelouch paused as well, stopping on the stairs, so that he would not crash into the static Kallen._

_"Lelouch, what do you think of me?" She asked, "Why did you tell me that 'you must live on' back in the Ikaruga?"_

_Lelouch bit his lip slightly, not having an answer prepared for such a question. They both had to know the answer. Kallen certainly wasn't stupid, and she knew full well exactly why he had said such a thing. But at the same time, he couldn't admit to it, not when an admission like that would only serve to bring her closer to him._

_He wanted to push her away, not to doom her future._

_Without warning, Kallen stepped down and stood in front of Lelouch for a second, eyes defiantly staring him down. He supposed that a part of him always did like the rebellious aspect of her personality. It was part of the reason he relied on her so, because she was one who always did as she believed was right, without any sort of hesitation or pause._

_Suddenly, she reached forward and grabbed his head with both hands, softly cradling his skull for a moment before she leaned forward and kissed him deeply on the lips. In that one move, she poured forth all of the pent up emotion and the repressed feelings she had kept down inside of her for years._

_However, as she stepped back, allowing their lips to part, Lelouch stayed absolutely silent, with no words to say in return. He knew that his silence would be a killing blow, one that would drive Kallen away forever._

_Kallen looked to him, eyes pleading him to say something, anything. But he would not grant her request, and his lips stayed closed._

_Understanding coming over her face, Kallen steeled her expression, "Goodbye, Lelouch."_

_Without so much of a mention of what had just transpired, Kallen turned and continued on the stairs without him._

_Once she was far enough away so that she wouldn't hear him, Lelouch allowed his expression to falter for a moment as he choked out the words he longed to say to her face, but never would get the chance to ever again, "Goodbye Kallen."_

* * *

Chiho lay back in her hospital bed, a content smile on her face. She glanced proudly at her forearm, where a small mark lay, signifying the presence of a needle that had previously been there, time and time again, to draw blood. The first time it had happened to her, she had been scared. But now, after feeling the slight prick again and again, the sensation had been numbed away, until it was no longer noticeable to her.

Had it really been that long, so that the tests were now regular? Chiho sighed, allowing her arm to go limp and fall to her side. She had really been in the hospital for a long time. It was a silly thing to think of right now, but the truth was that she had never really thought about it before, until now. After all, it had been so long since she had heard any semblance of good news.

"The infection has slowed significantly with the recent test." She repeated to herself, almost not believing the words coming from her mouth. The words sounded so ridiculous, even when they had come from the doctor's mouth. In fact, it seemed that the man himself had been as surprised as anyone else by the results. Could it be true that they had found the solution, at least for the time being? Could it be true that she could live without the fear of death, at least for a few more months?

She didn't know exactly who she could thank for the turnaround, but one man's face immediately came to mind.

"Lelouch." She whispered, unconsciously touching a finger to her rosy lips, some vigor restored in them for the first time in weeks.

The time that she had spent with him was nothing short of the most memorable three weeks of her life. A few weeks ago, she was on the verge of giving up, with the implication of death constantly looming over her like a weight. She had been able to keep her smiling mask up long enough so that Uzume would not worry about her, but the truth was that it was getting harder every day just to get out of bed, even as she told everyone that she was feeling fine.

But really, how could she have been fine? Her body was breaking down right before her eyes, and there was absolutely nothing that she could have been able to do about it. No matter what, no matter what new injection they tried, or the latest drug, nothing had been enough. For years, she had a ticket stamped for the land of the dead, and for someone not even out of high school yet, that was incredibly demoralizing.

Sure, she could continue forcing herself to smile and to say that she wasn't worried about dying, but it was all lies. Of course she was worried, and scared. Who wouldn't be? It wasn't fair that she, a young girl who had yet to experience the world, was slated to die, while everyone else had a chance to live out their lives unhindered. Why was she the one who had to be stuck with a disease? Why couldn't she be normal?

Those were the thoughts that had been racing through her head constantly, at least, until she met Lelouch. Here he was, someone every bit as scared as her, and yet, for some reason, he had touched her deeply, just by being with her. Now, after the time she had spent with him, she had no fear. All that she wanted to was to spend every waking hour with him, and to just be in his presence for as long as possible.

He cared about her, and she cared about him. Maybe more than he would ever know. She knew that it was sudden and made little sense, but, when one was not even eighteen, and yet, was about to…die, there was no time to dwell on the small details. What mattered was that she wanted to be around him constantly, and he made her happy, just by showing up to her room every day.

The day before, he had walked into her room, supported only by a cane this time, and he made a show of the fact that he could walk clear across the room and sit down next to her on his own two feet. Normally, something like that would only have angered her, but the fact that Lelouch was the one doing it, and the fact that he was legitimately excited to show her, almost like a child, made it okay. She wasn't jealous of his successes. If anything, they only motivated her more, and maybe that was why the infection had slowed, at least for now. Lelouch had given her a healthy dose of faith, and she was thankful for it.

And then, he had sat down right next to her on the edge of the bed, as he always did, and pulled out a social studies textbook, proceeding to explain the intricacies of different government styles while she leaned into him slightly, half listening to him and half wondering how he would react if she suddenly kissed him right then and there. With his silky ebony head of hair and smoldering violet eyes, he was as attractive as a man could get, with the effect only amplified by the small little smile that only graced his face when he was around her.

The fact that only she got to see that side of him made Chiho innately proud, like she had tamed a wild beast and made it her own. He made her feel special with the way that he treated her, letting his touch linger for just a second too long, or allowing their gazes to meet for a moment before he panicked and turned away.

They were all part of his complex and mysterious character, someone who she just wanted to know more and more about. More than that, she just wanted him to be able to look upon her without any fear, and to just hold her tightly in his arms, until they were both satiated with each other's presence.

Oh God, what had happened to her? When had her heart turned to mush and she became like a middle school girl once more? Could it be that she was…falling in love?

"Chiho." Lelouch greeted as he walked into her hospital room, startling Chiho with the sudden intrusion, although once she saw it was only Lelouch, she relaxed in his presence. If she was comfortable with anyone, it was going to be Lelouch.

"Hey Lelouch. It's a great day today, isn't it?" Chiho replied, referencing the sun, which was out and shining today.

"Yeah, it is." Lelouch nodded, leaning onto his cane so as to support himself. He had gotten out of his wheelchair a few days ago, his legs finally having regained some of their strength, and thus had switched to using a cane to support himself.

"So, do you want to get started with some chemistry, or do you want to go with grammar today?" Lelouch continued, crossing to the desk where Chiho's books lay. The two of them had continued with their lessons for the past few weeks. Over that span, Chiho had discovered that Lelouch was nothing less than a genius, if only on the lazy side. Honestly, if he really applied himself, Chiho was sure that he could have any job he wanted, although it seemed like Lelouch had no intention of doing so.

"Oh, let's do some grammar." Chiho suggested, not at all in the mood for science or anything along those lines.

"All right." Lelouch nodded, taking his familiar spot next to her on the bed and pulling the book in between them, so that they could both look at it without any difficulty.

"Say, Lelouch, the doctors said that my infection's been slowing down lately." Chiho suddenly remarked as they opened up the book.

"Really, that's great!" Lelouch answered, problems forgotten for the time being. He closed the cover, content to just speak with Chiho for a little while.

Chiho nodded softly, "Yeah, they say that it's almost like a miracle of some sort."

"Well, then that's incredible news! Maybe you'll get entirely better, and then you can go to school again!" Lelouch said with a grin, although Chiho felt her heart drop a bit at his words.

While it was true that she would love to go to school just like a normal girl, it wasn't so bad learning from Lelouch. He was a good teacher, and explained the concepts thoroughly to her in a way that made sense. It was almost as if he had previous experience working with younger girls or something.

"Well, you know, I have a pretty good teacher already." Chiho replied shyly, edging ever so slightly towards Lelouch, who was suddenly too flustered to notice the move.

"Well, I've pretty much just been regurgitating the books." Lelouch stammered, blush creeping onto his face.

"No, I've learned more with you teaching me than I ever have before." Chiho insisted, "And I've been meaning to thank you."

This was it, her chance. Chiho was now right up to Lelouch, shoulders tapping gently as they both collectively tried to avoid the other's line of sight, each too embarrassed to face the other.

Despite her pounding heart and the sweat dampening her palms, Chiho knew she had come too far to turn back now. If she was serious about confessing her true feelings to Lelouch, then this was something she had to do. Swallowing her fear, Chiho swiftly reached across her body to Lelouch's face, which she tilted in her direction for a split second before she pressed her lips up to his in a chaste kiss that she cut off as quickly as she had started it.

As she pulled back, eyes fixed on Lelouch's shocked expression, eyes wide in surprise and mouth hanging slightly agape at what had just transpired, Chiho suddenly felt extremely vulnerable and exposed. Her face turned red with embarrassment, and she whipped her face away, so that she wouldn't have to face Lelouch after what she had just done. Honestly, she just wanted to crawl under a rock and never come out, especially now, since Lelouch was completely silent.

"I'm sorry." She whispered softly, head hung low in shame.

Half expecting to hear Lelouch's footsteps any second now, as there was no way that he could do anything but run away now, Chiho was surprised to find that instead, he stayed glued to his spot, not budging at all.

Turning back to face him, Chiho was suddenly wrapped up by two lean arms and pulled up against a slender form before she had any time to protest.

"Don't be sorry. Just stay here with me for a little while." Lelouch breathed soothingly, his voice taking on a tenderness that Chiho had never seen from him before. He could feel a wave of gratitude wash over his entire body, giving him the sensation as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. There was something about the fact that Chiho bared her feelings towards him, and that he was allowed to reciprocate them that made him feel incredibly satisfied, even as the shock of the sudden kiss wore off.

Experiencing the same level of shock that Lelouch had, Chiho sat there, frozen for a moment until it registered to her that Lelouch had her in a tight embrace, and she began to reciprocate the action by placing her own frail arms around his back and leaned her head into his chest, just breathing in his scent.

If there was a heaven, Chiho imagined that it would have to be right here, with Lelouch.

* * *

From her perched position in a tree just outside of Chiho's window, Uzume saw the scene unfold before her eyes. As she did so, she felt her heart drop at the realization that Lelouch was the one that Chiho loved, not her.

"You knew this was going to happen." She whispered to herself, trying to keep the tears from welling up in her eyes.

She didn't blame Chiho. It wasn't the girl's fault that she fell in love with Lelouch. Every girl wanted a prince, and it seemed that Lelouch was the one who had fit the bill, and not her.

Still, Uzume was grateful for the time she had spent with Chiho. The girl had taught her the meaning of friendship and allowed her to experience love, even if it wasn't reciprocated. And that was why she had to remain and to protect her. She would not allow Chiho to be hurt by the Sekirei Plan, and she was willing to do anything to keep that from happening.

It was in her name, wasn't it? Uzume was the one who had lured Amaterasu out of his cave, and she had done the same with Chiho. She had given the girl a chance at love, and that was enough to make Uzume happy. It would have to be.

* * *

"You really are coming along." The physical therapist, a large framed man with a deep voice that almost made the ground rumble with its tone, remarked as Lelouch struggled to walk forward on his own strength. For each of the last few days, he had been able to walk more and more, up until the point where he could walk clear across the room that was used for physical therapy and back a few times before he was too fatigued to continue.

"Am I?" Lelouch questioned as he felt his legs finally give out and he fell, with some control, to the ground, where he lay on his back and stared up at the ceiling.

"Yes. You've made enough progress so that we are thinking of discharging you soon. You'll be ready for everyday physical activity soon enough." The therapist replied, moving to help pull Lelouch up so that he could sit up.

"That's great news doctor!" Lelouch flinched as the door to their physical therapy room was sudden thrown open, the hinges coming slightly loosened as the doors slammed into the wall, leaving a small dent in the plaster molding.

He saw the source of the words, a white haired man dressed in an unbuttoned lab coat and thick glasses, a devilish smile on the man's face. He was accompanied on either side by two men in military uniforms, each brandishing assault rifles and eyes hidden by large aviator sunglasses.

"Mr. Hiroto!" The therapist cried out, instantly recognizing the eccentric man, who nodded, acknowledging his fame.

"That is correct! It is I, Hiroto Minaka, the CEO of MBI!" He announced grandiosely, suddenly jabbing a finger in Lelouch's direction.

"And your name is Lelouch, isn't it, son?"

* * *

"Chiho." Uzume suddenly spoke up from across the bed, where the two of them were currently playing a board game that Uzume had brought in.

Chiho paused in the middle of moving one of her pieces, stopping to listen, "What is it, Uzume?"

"I just want to know…Do you love him?" Uzume asked shyly, turning her head away so that Chiho couldn't see her embarrassed expression.

"Who?" Chiho questioned.

"You know….Lelouch." Uzume replied.

Chiho suddenly realized what Uzume was really asking her.

"I love both of you equally. Don't worry." She reassured, placing a soothing hand on Uzume's shoulder, which felt unusually warm for a rather cold day.

"Then, can you prove it to me?" Uzume managed in a pleading tone, body temperature rising through the roof. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves, and her eyes snapped open, staring straight into Chiho's.

"Will you become my Ashikabi?"

* * *

**Well, I did originally plan to have Uzume be winged by Lelouch, but really, my mind started working on it, and I found that there was a better solution, at least to me. **

**And yes, although this is a Sekirei story, I am aware of the fact that Lelouch does not yet have one of his own. That is why I want to turn to you guys, my readers, to help me decide on which Sekirei Lelouch should wing. I am looking at a maximum of three Sekirei right now, just because of the fact that I want to give each of his Sekirei sufficient character development while still giving him a diverse cast to work with. **

**So, if you guys want to suggest which Sekirei Lelouch should have, please, feel free to do so!**

**Also, I don't want to be that guy, but I would appreciate it if you guys checked out the blog I've started writing for. It's called SushiGoKart, and I'm Kevani, so please, check out our site and give us a read while you're at it! I'm just starting out, but if you enjoy my writing and want to hear my opinion on some newer anime series, check out my reviews!**

**Also, I've created a Twitter account, for the reason of posting updates on my fanfics, some reviews from SushiGoKart, and some of my musings about real life. Follow me at Kevani, or KevaniSCD. Thanks a lot guys, and I really hope you guys follow me on Twitter so I can interact with you all easier. **

**As usual, keep the reviews and PMs up if you guys want this story to continue! I really appreciate any and all thoughts I can get! Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I am just honored** **by the response that I recieved for Chapter 3! I really do want to thank anyone who reviewed, as it only helped to motivate me to write more, so thank you! Please enjoy the continuation of Code Sekirei**!

* * *

Chapter 4

Lelouch stretched out his legs carefully, feeling the weak muscles slowly loosen up as he did so. The leather chair he was sitting in squeaked slightly as his weight shifted and resettled from his actions, the sounds breaking the silence that had fallen over the current occupants of the backseat.

Meanwhile, Minaka stared at him, a huge grin on his face as he observed Lelouch's actions, a contrast to the straight face that the MBI soldier next to him wore, staring down Lelouch from behind his sunglasses while he played with the magazine of his assault rifle.

"This is nice, isn't it?" Minaka asked, referencing the luxurious limousine that they were currently sitting in. Lelouch imagined that it had to be one of the more expensive cars on the road, having ridden in some luxurious cars before himself. After Minaka had burst into the room, he and his guards had funneled Lelouch out of the hospital and straight into the backseat of the limousine, giving him no time to protest.

Lelouch nodded, "Yes it is."

"Are you thirsty? Get him a beverage!" Minaka snapped at the soldier next to him, who nodded and tossed Lelouch a bottle of water, but not before giving Minaka a look of annoyance. The teen caught it appreciatively, twisting open the cap and taking a deep drink of water.

"Son." Minaka prompted.

"Son?" Lelouch asked, almost choking on his drink.

"Yes, my son." Minaka explained, "I found out when the results of your blood test arrived. I was informed by my good friend, the director of that particular hospital, that your results indicated that I was your biological father, and that one of my former researchers was identified as your mother."

Lelouch sat in his seat motionlessly, taking in the information he had just been given, "Is that right?"

"Yes, and what's more, I managed to pull up some information." Minaka then proceeded to grab a manila folder that had been lying at his side and flipped it open.

"Let's see, your birth name was given as Lelouch vi Britannia, which was your mother, Marianne's maiden name, as the father was not identified at the time. Apparently, you attended a Tokyo high school, with passing marks, nothing really spectacular there. You decided to forgo attending a university, choosing to take on a job as a delivery boy, which is where the accident with another delivery truck occurred and you were admitted into the hospital. All in all, not an impressive track record." Minaka remarked, closing the folder and tossing it off to the side.

Lelouch's brow furrowed as he tried to process what he had just heard. From what it seemed, he definitely had existed in this universe before, or, at least, some version of him had existed. Aside from their identical appearances, it seemed that he and the Lelouch of this universe had nothing in common, with their lives heading in divergent directions, as far as he was concerned.

It was somewhat disappointing to know that, in another universe, he had been a virtual nobody, with no future and no clear goals in life. Although, his current situation wasn't much different now, he supposed. Noting the irony of his thoughts, Lelouch leaned back weakly.

Minaka continued, with a glint in his eyes, "But, that is why I want to help you realize a destiny that only my son could hope to fulfill."

"Is that right?" Lelouch replied, slightly skeptical of the seemingly insane man sitting before him who claimed to be his biological father. Not that he had any reason to think otherwise, given that he currently knew nothing of the former host of his body, but still, there was something unsettling being in the presence of Minaka.

"Yes. But it will be easier to explain once you see exactly what I mean in person." Minaka affirmed as the limousine slid to a stop and the door was opened from the outside, revealing an armed guard who wore a cap with the letters "MBI" on it, much like the soldiers who had accosted Lelouch in the hospital.

"Mr. Hiroto, welcome back." The guard greeted, stepping aside to allow Minaka to step out first.

Lelouch followed shortly behind, not neglecting to bring his cane along, which he balanced himself with as he exited the vehicle to find himself in front of a massive tower that easily contained a hundred floors within its massive confines.

As Minaka walked forward, the masses of men and women, all dressed in expensive looking suits and research coats, parted instantly to allow him passage, not daring to get in his way. Lelouch followed behind in Minaka's stead, a bit taken aback at just how much respect the man commanded. Whoever he was, it was clear now that Minaka was not just a madman.

Entering MBI Tower, Lelouch was astounded by the sight before him. Although he had been the witness to extravagant wealth, as the former Emperor of the largest empire in the history of the world, MBI Tower was still an impressive sight, especially considering the fact that it was supposedly a pharmaceutical company, from what Minaka had told him about MBI's past.

It was filled to the brim with more businessmen, and was littered with expensive modern art pieces that seemed to have been purchased on a whim, given the diverse collection and the seemingly random placement of each of the pieces.

"What am I getting myself into?" Lelouch wondered to himself as he followed Minaka into a large elevator, squeezing in amongst a small crowd of men and women each busy with various calls, no doubt concerning business.

* * *

"Cancel my calls for today. I have something far more important to deal with." Minaka ordered as he exited the elevator once it had stopped on the top floor, his secretary quickly nodding and complying with his request.

Lelouch walked into a large office that seemed to span the entirety of the hundredth floor, with a large desk in the middle of the room, surrounded by a multitude of television screens and facing a large window that allowed for a perfect view of the highline of Tokyo. The whole room was designed with the technology in mind, as Minaka's desk acted as a hub of sorts, to which all of the television and computer screens were attatched to, with the mess of wires being concealed by clear glass tiles that spanned the entirety of the floor.

"Welcome to my office, Lelouch. Please, have a seat." Minaka said, directing Lelouch to a comfortable chair in front of his desk, where he sat and swiveled his chair in a circle a few times before he stopped himself and slammed his hand onto an intercom.

"Bring in Natsuo. And tell him to take the Discipline Squad with him." He yelled into the microphone. After he did so, he sat back in his chair, expecting the door to open at any second. When it didn't after a few minutes of awkward silence, Minaka's face bore a look of absolute frustration.

"What exactly do you intend on showing me?" Lelouch asked, watching his supposed father impatiently tap his fingers against his desk at a constant rhythm.

"You'll see soon enough." Minaka reassured, just as the door opened up behind Lelouch, true to his word.

Lelouch craned his neck to see a man with light brown hair dressed in a fine black suit enter the room, flanked by three women, each dressed in black robes. The first was a fiery looking pink haired girl, another was a gray haired woman wrapped in bandages and with fearsome claws on her hands, and the last was a seemingly pleasant woman with long grey hair and a large katana in her hands.

"Welcome, Natsuo!" Minaka greeted happily, standing up from his seat, causing Lelouch to do the same. As he took in the sights of each of the newly arrived guests, they studied him in turn. The bandaged one stared through him lazily, not at all interested, while the pink haired one gave him a look of disdain, no doubt in part due to his current clothing, which was the same hospital gown that he was rushed out of the hospital in.

However, he was far more interested in the reactions of the suited man and the gray haired woman. The man seemed to be smiling, facetiously, he might add, almost as if the man had something hidden just beneath the surface of his blithe mask. On the other hand, the woman had no problem with showing her clear emotions, as she smiled devilishly, making it clear that she was not to be toyed around with.

"Good morning Minaka. And who's this?" Natsuo replied, gesturing to Lelouch, who wore a level expression, not particularly tilted towards one emotion other than a slight sense of confusion.

"Ah, this is my son, Lelouch." Minaka introduced, leading Natsuo to wave in acknowledgement, his face not breaking at all. Meanwhile, the gray haired woman's eyebrows arched in interest, while the bandaged and pink haired girl collectively shared expressions of pure shock at the revelation.

"I'm Natsuo Ichinomi, nice to meet you." He said cordially to Lelouch, who nodded in turn. He could tell that something was clearly wrong with this Natsuo, but he kept his mouth shut for the moment. It wouldn't do him any good now to mention it.

"Now then, Lelouch, I would like to tell you a story." Minaka interrupted, gaining the attention of all those present.

"About 20 years ago, two students investigated a deserted island. One was a handsome young man by the name of Minaka Hiroto, and the other was insignificant to this story." Minaka commented offhandedly, "On that island, they found a crashed spaceship that contained 1 pillar and 107 baby birds, along with a vast wealth of advanced technology. These birds would grow up to become the beings you now see before you, Sekirei."

As he said those words, the pink haired woman and the clawed woman both waved to clarify the situation.

"These Sekirei are part of my plan to create a new age of the gods!" Minaka proclaimed, spreading his arms apart widely, "And you will be one of the participants in this plan." He added, pointing a finger straight at Lelouch's figure.

"Me?" Lelouch asked incredulously, not believing one word of the madness spewed out of Minaka's mouth.

"Ah, you see, Sekirei cannot function alone. Each of them needs a human partner, or an Ashikabi, as we refer to them. The Sekirei become bonded to Ashikabi through an exchange of saliva, most commonly done through the act of kissing." Natsuo informed Lelouch in an even tone that added somewhat to his credibility, although Lelouch was still doubting some of what he was hearing.

"You don't believe him, do you?" The katana wielding woman suddenly observed, putting a hand on the base of her sword, in a position from which she could easily draw the katana cut through Lelouch. She stepped closer to him, waiting to see if he would react.

Lelouch gulped slightly as he realized that the situation had just turned serious. This woman certainly had the means of killing him, and if the confident smirk she had on her face was any indication, she had killed before, and would not hesitate to do so again. However, at the same time, the best way to deal with a situation like this was to stand his ground, lest he be perceived as weak.

"I'm not scared of your empty threats." Lelouch bluffed, hoping that Karasuba wouldn't see through his lies. Truth be told, his palms were sweating profusely and his heart was beating incredibly fast as he tried to control his pulse.

To his surprise, the woman looked at him wide eyed for a second before she suddenly burst into a fit of laughter.

"You are an entertaining one, aren't you? Say what you want, but you certainly do take after your father." She sighed, wiping a tear from her eye.

Suddenly, her face darkened, and her voice took on a much more serious tone, "But rest assured, Minaka's son or not, I will kill you if you ever try to cross me like this again."

And with that, she stepped back to her original position, allowing Natsuo to continue the conversation.

"As I was saying, an Ashikabi can create a bond with a Sekirei by 'winging' it, and by doing so, enters him or herself into the Sekirei Plan. Really, anyone has the potential to become the winner, as long as they find a suitable Sekirei. I have done so to Benitsubasa, Haihane, and Karasuba." Natsuo added, choosing to ignore Karasuba's earlier words.

"And you have some of the greatest potential amongst all of the possible Ashikabi candidates, with my blood in your veins." Minaka said with a grin on his face. Well, he certainly didn't lack any narcissistic qualities normally associated with geniuses, Lelouch noted.

"And what exactly is this Sekirei Plan?" Lelouch questioned.

"The Sekirei Plan is a test of sorts between all of the Ashikabi and their Sekirei. Essentially, it is a war between anyone interested in joining the future that I seek to create, and the last one standing will receive a fabulous prize." Minaka replied.

Lelouch gritted his teeth. It seemed that no matter where he went, there was always going to be a conflict of some sorts. But, as his mind drifted to thoughts of Chiho, and then to Nunnally, and what she would have wanted him to do in this situation, his resolve hardened. He was going to end this war, so that they could all live in peace. It was all he was really good for, being the sinner that he was. He knew nothing but war, and if that was what it took to give Chiho a peaceful life, then he was going to use what he knew to end this Sekirei Plan.

"So, it's just another mindless conflict, is it?" Lelouch spat, repulsion in his voice at the mere thought of people killing each other over some insignificant prize.

Minaka furiously shook his head, "Not at all! For those who participate, the prize is tangible, and extremely valuable. Trust me. In the wrong hands, it has the power to destroy the world, and in the right ones, it can recreate it. It's just a matter of who has the power, intelligence, and cunning to achieve victory. "

Lelouch knew that his words were not to be trusted, and took that into account. However, at the same time, Minaka was giving him a chance to end it before it went too far, if his goading tone meant anything. If he could somehow find some of these Sekirei and win this Sekirei Plan, then he wouldn't have to worry about the truth behind Minaka's words about the prize falling into the wrong hands. He made up his mind right there. He was going to win the Sekirei Plan, and he was going to control the outcome of its prize.

"I will do what I must then. If that means staining my hands with more blood, then it will be done." Lelouch declared.

"Great! It's always nice to see such a willing participant! Now then, Natsuo, do you have the medicine?" Minaka questioned, to which Natsuo fumbled through his pockets before producing a small tube filled with two white pills.

"I can't stand to see my own son limping around, so please, take the experimental drug that we've created specifically to help reconstruct muscular tissue." Minaka explained as Natsuo popped open the cap and poured out the pills into Lelouch's hands. Taking a suspicious look at the medicine, Lelouch hesitated for a moment before deciding that he had nothing to lose from choosing to believe Minaka in this situation.

He swallowed the pills before taking a drink of the water that Natsuo offered him. As he felt the pills hit the pit of his stomach, he could feel the effects immediately. Almost instantaneously, he could feel his limbs regain some of their vitality, and found that he was no longer dependent on his cane, allowing the wooden apparatus to fall to the floor as he stood on his own strength.

With an appreciative nod, Lelouch turned to leave, ready to take his role on in the Sekirei Plan, with every intention to emerge victorious, no matter what the cost. At the same time, he felt a certain weariness in his body as it realized that he was going to be dragged into another war, but he quickly squashed the feeling. This was for Chiho's sake, and he would just have to force himself to last long enough to deliver a peaceful world to her.

"One more thing, that girl in the hospital that you grew so fond of was just identified as a new Ashikabi minutes ago by the spike in Number 10 Uzume's power levels." Minaka informed Lelouch as he began to walk away, forcing the teen to stop in his tracks.

"What? Chiho's involved already?" Lelouch asked.

"Yes. Of course, it won't be any fun to have such a fragile girl as an Ashikabi…" Minaka muttered under his breath, something that Lelouch immediately caught.

"Wait, since you were able to create a drug for me, isn't there something that you could do for Chiho?" Lelouch requested, turning back to face Minaka.

The CEO shrugged his shoulders, "Well, I suppose so. But for us to just waste our resources like that…"

"Please, if you want me to compete fully, then I need a guarantee that her disease will be stopped." Lelouch begged, to which Minaka shook his head disapprovingly.

"Already bargaining like this? You really are my son." He chuckled before clapping his hands together, "Very well, consider it done!"

Lelouch gave a relieved smile, "Thank you."

"One more thing. Tell me Lelouch, do you believe in fate?" Minaka asked as Lelouch reached the doors of his office.

"I…believe whatever I have to." Lelouch replied slowly as he exited the room, leaving Minaka and Natsuo looking at each other in puzzlement over his answer.

"There's no way that he was simply a delivery boy. Not with the way he carried himself." Natsuo remarked as soon as the door closed, taking note of Lelouch's unexpectedly calm composure. It was almost as if the teen had been in complete control of the situation, from the way he had acted, even though that was anything but the truth. Even up against Karasuba, he had barely batted an eyelash, something that Natsuo could recall anyone else ever doing, not even Minaka himself.

"I thought that as well, but I've dug up everything I could about him, and nothing says that he has been anything but an ordinary teenager for his entire life." Minaka replied, equally confused.

"Was it his mother?" Natsuo asked.

"Marianne always was a sharp one, but there's no way that he could have learned from her." Minaka insisted, dismissing the idea with a wave of his hand.

Natsuo raised an eyebrow, "Why not?"

"Because she was murdered when he was ten. He lived for the last eight years with a foster family by the name of the Ashfords." Minaka informed Natsuo.

The Discipline Squad Ashikabi shook his head, "Still, there's something about him that can't be explained by any of this. It's almost as if he was from an entirely different world from ours."

"Even so, he is my son. And I want to provide for him any way I can." Minaka continued, in a serious tone that he rarely used.

"Really? I never saw you as one for caring much about familial ties." Natsuo replied interestedly.

Minaka shook his head, "After what Takehito did for me, I think I owe it to him to make sure that his sacrifice wasn't in vain. He saved me, and entrusted me to carry out the plans for the future that we envisioned. I won't waste his trust by putting the keys to victory in the hands of someone I cannot trust. Lelouch is my son, and I will just have to have faith that he will make the right decisions."

* * *

Toyotama was cold, hungry, and, as much as she didn't want to admit it, scared. She clutched her left arm tightly, wincing as she felt the sting of an open wound and smashed her back up against a wall, taking refuge for as long as she could from her attackers as she surveyed the damage. With heavy breaths, her eyes scanned her body, finding several more wounds like the one on her arm, each sticky and red with the blood that had slowly begun the process of congealing so that the hole could be covered up.

Her appearance must have been a mess, with her top slightly ripped and her dark green hair wildly flowing down her shoulders, stuck to her body by sweat. Her trusty staff was on the ground beside her, having dropped it earlier when she had rushed into the alley in an attempt to hide.

"Where did you go?" The voice of one of the two Lightning twins, Hikari, rang out as the two searched for their quarry.

Nervously, Toyotama slowed her breathing in an attempt to conceal her presence. She couldn't be terminated now! Not when she had barely been out in the real world, and not before she had met her Ashikabi. Heck, she had barely seen any humans at all before she was set upon by the twins, who had apparently been preying on unwinged Sekirei like her, in an attempt to eliminate as many as they could before they reached their Ashikabi.

As she heard the footsteps rapidly approach her hiding place, Toyotama could feel her heartbeat increase exponentially with every step, until it reached the point where her chest felt like it was ready to explode from the force of her heartbeat hammering within her chest.

She shut her eyes tightly as the sound of footsteps slowed as they got louder and louder, fully expecting to be struck by a bolt of lightning any second. However, to her surprise, the two passed, and the sounds grew softer, indicating that the twins had skipped past the alley and were continuing on without checking back.

Convinced that she had just avoided certain termination, Toyotama felt to her knees, the emotion of the moment completely overwhelming her, bringing her to tears as she realized that she had just been given another chance to survive and to find her Ashikabi. She knew that it was a weak thing to do, but she couldn't help it. She should have been defeated right then and there, and she knew it. It was a miracle that she was even still alive right now.

* * *

Lelouch examined the price tag on the pair of pants he had decided to try on in the dressing room of a department store. Currently, he was dressed in a slim pair of grey dress pants, a fitted white dress shirt and a short grey two button suit, accompanied by a straight black tie. Lelouch slipped on a pair of black dress shoes, wriggling his ankle so that his foot would slip into the black leather easily.

He adjusted his cuffs, so that they were showing some of his shirt underneath before taking a good look at himself in the mirror. He certainly couldn't be walking around the city in his hospital gown, lest he want to be attracting unnecessary attention.

At the same time, he needed to find a wardrobe that would hopefully make him stand out to the Sekirei, who he had learned were largely female from Minaka. He didn't know if that meant that they would have a physical attraction to him, but it was certainly worth a try. He knew that he had desirable looks, if he fan club at Ashford Academy had been any indication, and he was going to use them to help him find a Sekirei soon enough. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to wear some nicer clothes, not with the unlimited MBI card he had been gifted by Minaka.

Ripping off the price tags of each of the pieces of clothing he had been trying on, Lelouch exited the dressing room, shifting around slightly to give his appearance a few adjustments as he walked up to the counter, where the clerk was busy examining some returned clothes in a small pile.

"Excuse me, I'm ready to pay." Lelouch gently spoke, gaining her attention. She was a young looking brunette attendant, and immediately her eyes widened as she took in Lelouch's appearance, wondering exactly how she had the luck to be helping such a handsome man.

"O-of course! Will you use credit or cash?" She stammered, doing her best not to stare too much, but failing in her attempt.

Seeing an opportunity to test whether or not his Geass still functioned, Lelouch sighed and placed a hand on the counter.

"Say, I wouldn't be able to talk you into giving me all of this for free, could I?" He asked, with the last part sounding more like a command, with the intention to use his Geass on that line. However, when the attendant nervously shook her head, Lelouch gritted his teeth in disappointment.

Lelouch reached into his back pocket and whipped out a small black plastic card, "Just kidding, I have an MBI card. Just put it on that."

"Right." The attendant managed, quickly taking the card and typing out some keys on her register.

Lelouch thanked the woman as she handed him back his card, along with a small slip of paper, on which she had written a phone number, having gained some valuable information.

It was clear now that he no longer possessed his Geass. More likely than not, his consciousness had been transplanted into the body of this universe's Lelouch, which explained why it no longer had the capability to use Geass. Obviously, he would have to conduct some more research about who his other self exactly was, but at least now, some of the pieces were starting to fall in place.

"No matter. I'll just have to adjust my plans slightly." Lelouch said as he crumpled up the phone number and tossed it to the ground, having no intention of calling the woman.

"Sekirei Plan, meet your victor!" He declared confidently, a devilish grin coming to his face.

* * *

**As of now, as you can tell, I've decided that Lelouch will have Toyotama as his first. I don't want to write a generic story with the same Sekirei that every other crossover uses, so I'm aiming to use some lesser known Sekirei. However, that doesn't mean that I won't still listen to any Sekirei suggestions. So, if you guys still want to suggest which Sekirei Lelouch should have, please, feel free to do so!**

**Also, I don't want to be that guy, but I would appreciate it if you guys checked out the blog I've started writing for. It's called SushiGoKart, and I'm Kevani, so please, check out our site and give us a read while you're at it! I'm just starting out, but if you enjoy my writing and want to hear my opinion on some newer anime series, check out my reviews!**

**Also, I've created a Twitter account, for the reason of posting updates on my fanfics, some reviews from SushiGoKart, and some of my musings about real life. Follow me at Kevani, or KevaniSCD. Thanks a lot guys, and I really hope you guys follow me on Twitter so I can interact with you all easier.**

**As usual, keep the reviews and PMs up if you guys want this story to continue! I really appreciate any and all thoughts I can get! Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you all for the reviews so far! I really do appreciate each and every one of them, and I hope they keep coming! Also, the end of this chapter has an IMPORTANT author's note, so be sure to read it for some info. Other than that, please, enjoy the continuation to Code Sekirei!**

* * *

Chapter 5

Toyotama ignored the stares from passersby as she limped through the crowded streets of Tokyo, in the heart of the business district. Surrounded by men and women on all sides, Toyotama forged onwards, confident that somewhere in this great sea of people, someone could be her Ashikabi, and make her complete with a winging.

However, her search had thus far been fruitless, and the merciless shoving by businesspeople who evidently had somewhere important to be did not help her hopes. As she glanced around at the callous expressions, she felt her heart drop with the fear that maybe she would never find her Ashikabi creeping in.

She felt her stomach rumble, weakly calling out for any sort of sustenance to tide it over until she could continue her search. On instinct, she reached to her belt, patting around the leather straps for her MBI card, until it occurred to her that it had been looted from her by the twins. Cursing under her breath, Toyotama found that she could walk no longer, opting just to collapse to her knees, just allowing exhaustion to overtake her figure as the world faded in and out of her vision.

Just before it all went black, she saw a glimpse of a handsome black haired man, and felt the faintest hints of warmth come over her body. A small smile came over her face, and she did her best to combat the overwhelming desire to close her eyes.

"I found you." She managed weakly, body finally giving out.

Lelouch's eyes widened as he witnessed the scantily clad woman in front of him collapse onto the ground, and immediately knelt down besides her unconscious form. Gently lifting some of her dark green locks out of her face, he was met with the face of a beautiful woman, although some of her beauty was marred by the smears of dirt and blood all over her face, likely the result of some sort of violence.

Glancing down at her clothes, he spotted a familiar symbol of a red wing on the woman's blue and white top. Immediately, the realization that he had just discovered a Sekirei dawned on Lelouch, and he immediately knew that he had to help her somehow. Although he was not one well endowed with physical strength, he knew that there was no way that he could leave her in the street while he waited for her to regain consciousness.

He looked around at his surroundings, searching for anywhere he could wait a while, before deciding on a nearby restaurant, noticing his own hunger. With a grunt, he heaved the woman onto his shoulder, finding that, surprisingly, he was carrying her with relative ease. Not neglecting the spear that was at her side, he carefully picked up the weapon with his free hand. With the Sekirei safely in his grasp, he rose to his feet and entered the small ramen shop, where he was instantly assaulted by the fragrant scent of broth that instantly made his mouth water.

Deciding on an empty corner of the small restaurant to hunker down in, Lelouch made a beeline to the booth, where he gently lay the woman down before taking a seat of his own across the table.

* * *

Toyotama awoke to find herself suddenly sitting in front of a steaming bowl of ramen and across from the same handsome man from before. In surprise, she instinctively put her hands up in front of her face for defense, before she realized that the man was simply staring at her in interest.

"You're hungry, aren't you? Eat up." Lelouch urged Toyotama, who eyed him with some suspicion before she felt her stomach rumble once more and was reminded once more of her ravenous hunger. Deciding that the questions could wait until later, she slurped down the noodles noisily and tipped the bowl so that she down all of the soup at once. Feeling the warmth of the liquid throughout her body, Toyotama gave a satisfied sigh and placed the bowl down on the table.

As the warmth stayed in her body, refusing to fade away, Toyotama was reminded of what she had just realized right before she had passed out in the street. This man, whoever he was, was her Ashikabi, and her search could finally come to an end.

"You're a Sekirei, am I right?" Lelouch asked of the woman, who was surprised by his question, but nodded nonetheless.

"I am Toyotama, Number 16." She replied, as Lelouch sat back and nodded his head.

"Number 16, huh? Tell me, what happened to you before I found you?"

Toyotama scowled at being reminded of her defeat, "I was attacked by the Lightning Twins, and I just barely escaped termination. They have been preying on unwinged Sekirei like me, trying to knock us out of the Sekirei Plan before we can even meet our Ashikabi."

"So, I assume you're unwinged?" Lelouch prompted, already knowing the answer in the back of his mind.

"Yes, but that will change now that I've found you, my Ashikabi." Toyotama replied excitedly, barely able to contain her glee at having found the man who she could begin serving as a Sekirei.

Without warning, she placed her hands on the table, using it as leverage to propel herself forwards she leaned towards Lelouch, placing her lips upon his. As she did so, she could feel the unbearable heat in her body dissipate, replaced instead with a sort of soothing coolness that ran through her veins. At the same time, large wings of light bloomed from her back, illuminating the tiny shop with a brightness that made Lelouch draw back and cover his eyes.

"We are now united, as Ashikabi and Sekirei." Toyotama stated.

Lelouch's lips turned up in a smile as he heard her words, "Is that so? Then, I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Lelouch vi Britannia."

"I understand, Master. What will your first command be?" Toyotama asked respectfully, relying on what she had been taught at MBI. The Sekirei were to act as essentially servants to their respective masters, and were to follow any order they were given, no matter if they conflicted with the Sekirei's own desires or not.

"Please, call me Lelouch." He replied casually, not really being comfortable with someone referring to him as "Master."

"Very well…Lelouch." Toyotama nodded, relishing the name as it came off of her tongue.

"Good. Now that we understand each other, I want you to tell me everything you know about the Sekirei Plan and its participants." Lelouch ordered, allowing Toyotama to happily comply.

* * *

Uzume bit her lip nervously, sliding her tongue over the dry skin as she almost drew blood, just stopping short as she saw Chiho's breathing slow.

Turning to the MBI guard next to her, she latched onto the man's arm in a panic, "What's going on there? Why is Chiho's breathing off?" Uzume demanded from the surprised guard, who shook off her iron grip with some difficulty.

"Calm down. They're just applying anesthesia. It's all perfectly normal." The man reassured, hands nearing the assault rifle strapped to his chest, ready to use it if necessary to sedate the anxious Sekirei sitting next to him, observing the operation.

Although she was far from satisfied with the man's answer, Uzume nodded, and regressed back into her seat, unable to tear her eyes away from the scene in front of her. There was a small staff of doctors, each wearing coats with the MBI logo, reminding her exactly who was performing the operation on Chiho's frail body. It had all happened so quickly.

The guards had run into the hospital, and, despite Uzume's protests, they had removed Chiho from her current hospital and shipped her out to MBI Tower and into one of the higher floors, where a small medical clinic was contained. According to the guard next to her, the orders for Chiho's operation had come directly from Minaka himself.

She was suspicious of the man's intentions, but there was nothing she could do now but to just wait and hope for the best. Although the operation was aimed to completely remove the virus from Chiho's body, it also came at the risk of possibly killing the girl, if the operation went wrong. And if that happened, Uzume knew that she would be terminated, and more than that, an innocent girl would lose her life.

* * *

"So, Ma-Lelouch," Toyotama began, catching herself, "What are we doing?"

Lelouch glanced at the green haired woman, who was following him through the streets like a lost dog, perfectly shadowing his every move.

"Well, I need to search for a house. I haven't been here long and I need somewhere to stay." Lelouch replied ,realizing exactly how unprepared he had been. After being released by Minaka, he hadn't even had the foresight to try and find a place to set up base, something that he should have done immediately. Still, it was too late now to do anything about it other than to start searching.

"Where did you come from then?" Toyotama asked curiously, noting that Lelouch did look different from most of the other people she had run across in Tokyo. Aside from his elegant and aristocratic features that made him look like a prince of some sort, he had a pair of hypnotic violet eyes that instantly drew Toyotama in with their depth and power.

"That'll have to be a story for another time." Lelouch replied quickly, almost as if he was trying to avoid the topic. Truthfully, he wasn't ready to tell anyone just yet about where he had truly come from, knowing all of the questions it would cause. For now, it was better to just pretend that there wasn't anything to tell. Maybe he would be ready one day to tell Toyotama, but that day was not today.

What could he tell her? That he was a reject from another universe? That he had nothing in this world to truly belong to, and that he was an outcast in every sense of the word? No. He would not and could not admit that yet, not when he barely knew anything about Toyotama herself.

"What about this?" Toyotama asked, pointing to a small row of small suburban styled houses that the two of them had reached, a clear departure from the countless skyscrapers surrounding the nearby area. In particular, Toyotama was drawn to one of the houses, a normal two story unit that was as ordinary and unassuming as they came, with a concrete wall surrounding the yard around the actuall complex of the building, which came complete with a small garage built into the side of the house.

Despite the small size of the property, Lelouch admitted that there was something about the house that seemed to scream comfort, and nodded along with Toyotama's suggestion.

"All right, let's look into it then." Lelouch agreed, noting that the house did have a "For Sale" sign, complete with the phone number of the real estate agent.

Pulling out the plain pre-paid cell phone he had bought recently, Lelouch thumbed out the numbers on the clunky keyboard, making a mental note that he had to visit a store to buy a real cell phone later.

"Excuse me, I would like to talk about buying a house." Lelouch began as he heard the agent pick up on the other end.

"Of course. I would be happy to show you around some of the more affordable houses I have openings at, if you would like." The agent, who, from the voice, was clearly female, responded.

"Well actually, my…" Lelouch glanced at Toyotama, trying to decide how to explain who she was, "Girlfriend and I already have our hearts set on a house, and we'd be willing to pay in full for it right now."

On the other side came an animalistic noise that Lelouch assumed was the agent choking on her coffee. After a short silence, the woman cleared her throat and spoke in a shaky voice, "I'll be there as soon as I can."

Lelouch snapped the phone closed and glanced at Toyotama, who was still entranced by the house.

"Say, what do you like so much about this house anyways?" He asked, interested to know exactly why she had been so eager to buy this house in particular.

"It just feels like home." Toyotama said, unable to truly explain her feelings in another way. There was just something about the coziness of a smaller property that felt right to her. Maybe it was her desire to spend as much time with Lelouch as possible, or maybe it was just a natural inclination towards such places, but Toyotama could feel a definite connection to the house the moment she had seen it. It felt just like one of the houses she had always read about in the magazines provided to her during her tuning.

"Home, huh?" Lelouch whispered to himself, feeling a small rise in his temperature as the words left his mouth. Something about the thought of having somewhere to stay and to call his own instantly brought a warmth to his body, one that he hadn't felt for quite a time.

* * *

Minaka tapped away at his computer, his office completely silent save for the sound of the keys clacking with each stroke of his finger. For a split second, his head dipped, his exhaustion reaching the breaking point. However, with the thought that the Sekirei Plan still required his intervention, he felt the weariness fade, replaced by determination.

However, that didn't mean that he couldn't take a break. Blowing out some air from his mouth, he eased backwards, the back of his chair giving way so that he could lean backwards and allowing his spine to loosen with a slight crack. Coming back up like a pendulum, Minaka returned to his original position, aided by momentum.

"Minaka!" The door slammed open, making the walls shake slightly, to reveal a white haired woman in a long white lab coat. At the sudden intrusion, Minaka nearly jumped out of his seat, before he realized who had just entered his office.

"Takami!" Minaka greeted excitedly, his energy jumping several levels as he hopped out of his chair.

"Don't!" Takami snapped in response, shutting down Minaka, "I need to talk to you about the fact that Minato's an Ashikabi!"

"What? I'm just covering my bases!" Minaka replied.

Takami arched a twitching eyebrow, "Covering your bases? What else have you done?"

"Nothing! I've just given both of my sons the opportunity to succeed!" Minaka stammered, noting that Takami's hand balled up into a fist.

"Both?" Takami asked incredulously, her fingers weakening their tight grip, "What do you mean both?"

"I have another son, from Marianne." Minaka admitted, his voice taking on a more serious tone than it normally contained.

"Wait? So is that why she suddenly left her post back then?" Takami's eyes widened as she began piecing the puzzle together.

He nodded slightly, "I imagine so. I don't know everything about it, but from what I've found out, it appears that way."

"So, does he know?" Takami managed, realizing that Minaka was hurting more than he was currently letting on. The man was human, for all of his eccentricities and delusional ideas. And he wasn't heartless, which meant that, for all of his cruel actions in the past, he was currently killing himself on the inside for losing the chance at having a true family.

She had always kept Minato and Yukari away because of the simple fact that she didn't want them involved in the Sekirei Plan. She had known at the time that Minaka truly wanted to be with them, but for their safety, she had always kept them away. It wasn't exactly what she wanted to do, but Minaka understood why things had turned out that way. But now, with the revelation that he had yet another son that he had missed out on, Takami knew that there was no way that he wasn't disappointed in himself.

"Yes." Minaka said tersely, keeping his composure.

"Then maybe there's still a chance." She suggested.

"Yeah, maybe." Minaka answered, "But for now, what matters is that they each have their roles to play as bearers of my blood. Both of them have the potential to achieve great things, and I want to be there when they realize their destinies."

* * *

"So, you just have to sign here, and I can hand you the new key to your house!" The real estate agent exclaimed, hardly believing her good fortune as Lelouch signed the document, confirming his purchase of the small house.

"Thank you Lelouch! This is great!" Toyotama cried out as she slid the door open and dashed into the empty house.

"Don't thank me. Thank MBI." Lelouch chuckled, amazed at how the little black piece of plastic that Minaka had tossed him was essentially his ticket to owning anything he could ever want to buy. When Minaka had told him that the card was unlimited, he had really meant it.

"But this doesn't look anything like the magazines." Toyotama observed, noticing that the whole house was completely bare of anything save for the actual frame of the wood.

"Well, we have to buy furniture too, but we can handle that later. It's getting pretty late." Lelouch informed Toyotama, who nodded in understanding. Before she could respond, a knock came to the door, the sound reverberating throughout the small property.

With caution in his steps, Lelouch moved to the entrance, Toyotama following closely behind with her spear at the ready. Lelouch slid open the front door to find himself standing in front of a black haired man with glasses dressed in an expensive suit.

"Mr. Izumi would like to talk to you, if you'll come with me." The man informed Lelouch, a serious look on his face. The way that he had said the name implied that whoever Izumi was, he apparently carried some weight. Lelouch glanced over the man's shoulder to see an expensive sports car parked right in the middle of the street.

"How did you find me? And who are you?" Lelouch questioned, suspicion evident in his voice.

"I am Kakizaki, Mr. Izumi's assistant. And we have contacts everywhere, so it was only a matter of time before we found you." Kakizaki explained, "Now, if you'll answer my question."

"All right. Tell him to come to me, should he have something important to discuss." Lelouch retorted, a confident smile on his face. He had no idea who Izumi was, but he had no interest in being put in an inauspicious position. If he was to follow the man at the door, he would likely be at Izumi's mercy, and he didn't want to take any chances.

"You can't just tell Mr. Izumi to do that!" Kanzaki exclaimed, a bit of surprise in his voice. Clearly, he had never heard someone speak that way before to his superior.

"It's fine Kakizaki. I see that Mr. Britannia is someone worthy of my respect." A man with light brown hair, dressed in an expensive white suit paired with a black tie, waved his hand slightly, moving in to stand across from Lelouch, having exited his car earlier.

"Higa Izumi." The man introduced himself as he adjusted his jacket slightly.

"Lelouch vi Britannia." Lelouch replied, glancing to Toyotama, who was prepared for a fight, if her tense posture meant anything.

"Yes, I know exactly who you are. The son of Hiroto Minaka, and therefore, the heir to MBI. You were recently a delivery boy, until certain circumstances forced your departure from the company and sent you to the hospital. Trust me, I know all of that and more, including the fact that you are an Ashikabi." Higa recited, having the facts memorized.

Surprised at the last part of his statement, Lelouch managed to conceal the shock that had slightly come over him.

Higa gave a knowing smile, "Or am I wrong? Is that not Sekirei Number 16, and are you not her Ashikabi?"

"So, I suppose you are an Ashikabi as well?" Lelouch sighed, the facts finally fitting together.

"Yes, and I have to admit, I was actually quite looking forward to winging Number 16 as well." Higa replied disappointedly.

"Well, I'm sorry to inform you, but you are correct. I am Toyotama's Ashikabi." Lelouch said, the implication that Higa should back off being made clear by his tone.

"Well, I am willing to work around that fact. If you would just agree to work with me, I could surely offer you a guarantee that I will work to stop this Sekirei Plan, and allow you to live with Number 16 in peace, without fear of being forced to participate in a game that you want no part of." Higa offered, hoping that Lelouch would be enticed by the offer.

"Sorry, but I have no intention of working for anyone else. I have my own reasons for entering in the Sekirei Plan, and they don't involve you." Lelouch stated with finality, considering the matter closed.

"Well, I am disappointed by your stubbornness. I had really thought that you were smarter than that." Higa growled, doing his best not to show the anger that was bubbling to the surface.

"I think our negotiations are over." Lelouch said blithely, a smug look of satisfaction plastered onto his face.

"You know, you could have done great things in the scheme of things." Higa shook his head with frustration, stepping backwards.

"Trust me, you have no idea what I'm capable of yet." Lelouch called out over Higa's shoulders as the teen angrily led Kakizaki away.

* * *

**Well, I certainly jumped around a lot this chapter, and rest assured, it won't happen much again after this. Writing from so many different perspectives usually burns me out, but for this chapter in particular, it was kind of necessary so that I could set the stage for what is to come. And concerning what is to come, I've decided to put up a poll on my profile about which Sekirei should be included in Code Sekirei. And just because I only am going to have Lelouch wing three to four Sekirei, doesn't mean that he can't get involved with more than just the ones he wings, so vote away for your favorites!**

**And also, I've started my own editorial blog, called Knighted. I have the link on my profile, and if you guys are interested in maybe contributing or writing for it, just let me know in a PM. I really want to make it something special, and I need everyone's help to do it! Even if you guys aren't all that interested, I would really appreciate it if you guys gave me a few likes, since I have the Facebook link on my profile as well. If I get enough likes, I might just be motivated to start updating Code Sekirei more frequently, you never know...**

**Anyways, as usual, keep the reviews and PMs up if you guys want this story to continue! I really appreciate any and all thoughts I can get! After the past two updates, I'm beginning to expect at least 35 reviews, so hopefully, you guys won't let me down! Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for all of the reviews last week! I know that last chapter was a bit disappointing, but so far, every chapter, including this one, has been set up for the real heart of the story, which will come around when the Second Stage of the Sekirei Plan begins, but I did find a way to get some action in this chapter, so please, enjoy the continuation of Code Sekirei!**

* * *

Chapter 6

"Ma-Lelouch," Toyotama corrected herself, "Are you sure that it was the right move to just throw out that man? He clearly is well informed about the Sekirei Plan, and it might be dangerous to make him an enemy."

Lelouch slammed the door shut, turning to Toyotama with a sigh, "Toyotama, do you trust me about this or not?"

Immediately, Toyotama nodded, without the slightest hint of hesitation. She had the upmost trust in Lelouch, and if anything, she was a bit insulted by his question, as it questioned her loyalty.

Meanwhile, Lelouch arched an eyebrow in amusement at Toyotama's impassioned response, with a vigorous nodding that whipped her emerald hair around, leaving it in a wild mess that he instinctively reached out a hand to straighten out before he realized what he was doing and caught himself, snapping his arm back before Toyotama even had a chance to notice what he had been doing.

"Of course I do! You are my Ashikabi, and I would follow you to the depths of Hell, if you so ordered me to!" Toyotama declared with a finality and determination that Lelouch found admirable in the situation.

Lelouch chuckled, "Calm down, I'm not asking you to do that, although the path we might be headed on won't be too far from that."

"Regardless, I have no reservations in following behind you. As a Sekirei, it is my duty." Toyotama assured, although Lelouch needed no such thing. She had already made it quite clear to him that her loyalty was not something to be questioned, at least, not so far.

Lelouch let out a breath of air and yawned a bit, "Look, it's getting late. Let's just get some sleep and continue in the morning."

"So where are we going to sleep?' Toyotama asked, the fact that the house was empty not forgotten by her.

Lelouch looked over Toyotama, still dressed in the same clothes he had discovered her in, which consisted of nothing more than a small top, shorts, and a belt with leggings. Inwardly, he cringed at the fact that MBI had allowed her to leave the building with such insufficient clothing, although it seemed like Toyotama was not bothered at all by it.

He plopped down on the wooden floor, hearing it creak slightly as he did, before sliding his body backwards until it was resting up against a wall. Unbuttoning his jacket, Lelouch gave Toyotama an expectant look, although she didn't seem to understand his intentions. With a wave of his hand, he gestured for her to come closer, which she did.

"Here, just sit down here." Lelouch ordered, and Toyotama complied, taking a seat on the floor directly across from him. As she did so, he quickly slid his jacket off of his shoulders and wrapped it around Toyotama's figure, before pulling her close to him, so that they could both use the jacket as a makeshift blanket.

For a second, Toyotama merely stared up at Lelouch's flat expression, shocked by his surprising actions. However, shock was quickly replaced by happiness and joy as she realized that Lelouch was trying to keep her from catching cold. Although as a Sekirei, it really wasn't possible for her to get sick from normal diseases, she still appreciated the gesture, and would be lying if she said that she didn't want to have the chance to sleep with her Ashikabi.

For now, she decided to keep her mouth shut and to enjoy the moment, allowing her eyes to flutter closed as she drifted off into sleep.

Lelouch smiled softly as he watched Toyotama's nose slightly flare with each long, drawn out breath she took with a peaceful expression on her face. Her lips twitched slightly before turning up into a small little grin, indicating to Lelouch that she was having a pleasant dream. Shifting slightly in his arms, Toyotama allowed her face to lean to the side, bringing several strands of hair as well, the green locks falling over her face.

Leaned up against the wall of his house, with a beautiful woman sleeping literally on top of him, Lelouch swore that he was living a scene straight out of some romantic comedy. And, to be perfectly honest, he didn't really mind being in this position.

Shaking his head in disbelief, Lelouch slightly admonished himself. When had he lost sight of his original goal? He wasn't here to concern himself with romance or any petty goals. He was here to end this Sekirei Plan, save Chiho, and do whatever else was needed to end the fighting of this universe. His own happiness would have to take a backseat to all of that.

* * *

Toyotama's eyes blinked once, then twice as her mind groggily shook off sleep and attempted to focus on her surroundings. For a moment, she forgot where she was before she sat up a bit and caused the jacket that covered her body to slide off, reminding her of the fact that Lelouch had covered her in it the night before and that she was sitting in her new home.

"Our new home." She corrected herself, noticing that Lelouch was nowhere to be found, his jacket being the last remaining trace of him.

"Oh, you're awake." Lelouch observed from his spot up against the sliding glass door of their living room that led to the small, but sufficient backyard. Toyotama's breath hitched as she took in his appearance, with his hair messy and wild and shirt half unbuttoned, revealing his pale chest underneath. Instantly, she could feel her cheeks heat up, her mind involuntarily fantasizing about that chest heaving above her in different circumstances.

"Stop!" She snapped at her brain, which was deaf to her protests.

"Stop what?" Lelouch asked, completely confused by Toyotama's sudden comment. He glanced to his sides, to make sure that she wasn't addressing anyone else, and found that the room was completely empty save for the two of them.

"Nothing" She stammered, having finally cleared her mind of all dirty thoughts. Feeling incredibly embarrassed by the whole situation, she awkwardly thrust Lelouch's jacket forward, "Here, take it."

In response, Lelouch thanked her softly before grabbing the gray material and slipping into it, taking care to button up the shirt underneath, much to Toyotama's relief.

"So, what are we planning to do today?" Toyotama prodded, hopping onto her feet deftly, showcasing her outstanding agility in a limited setting.

"Well, I've arranged to have our furniture delivered today by the moving company, so they'll be busy with our house until later in the day, so we need to go out and run some errands to prepare us for the Sekirei Plan." Lelouch explained, leading Toyotama to the door, where she picked up her spear from its position on the floor.

He pulled the door back, allowing Toyotama to walk out first before he followed behind and locked the door with his key, which he slipped back into his pants.

* * *

"Uzume?"

Uzume's eyes snapped open as she heard the voice of Chiho weakly calling out for her. The brown haired Sekirei immediately sat up, sleep forgotten for the time being as she saw her Ashikabi awaken from her own slumber.

"Chiho! How are you feeling?" Uzume asked worriedly, ready to help with whatever was needed.

"Tired." The girl admitted.

Uzume smiled and gently ran a finger through Chiho's brown locks, "Well, you should get some rest while you can. You'll need all of your energy for your discharge."

"The operation was a success?" Chiho asked, as the weight of Uzume's words dawned on her.

With a large grin, Uzume nodded, "The doctors said that the chance for success was low, but you somehow beat the odds."

"Yes, it really was something impressive."

Both Uzume and Chiho angled their heads to stare at the intruder in their hospital room. As they did so, Uzuem's eyes widened and she stood up to greet the man.

"Chairman!" Uzume cried out in surprise as Minaka stopped in his tracks.

"Like I said, your resilience was really something quite remarkable. I was half expecting you to die, to tell the truth. I suppose I understand what Lelouch sees in you." He chuckled, gaining Chiho's attention at the mention of Lelouch's name.

"Lelouch? How do you know Lelouch?" Chiho asked, sitting up.

"He's the one who asked for us to attempt this operation. Really, he's the one responsible for saving your life." Minaka explained.

"What? Lelouch did this?" Uzume whispered, mind barely registering what Minaka had just said.

However, before Uzume could dwell on it any longer, Chiho spoke up, "Do you know where he is?"

Minaka smiled softly, "I thought you might ask that."

Without another word, he whipped out a small card and flung it at Uzume, who easily caught the projectile, and left the room, leaving behind two confused women.

* * *

"What are we doing here?" Toyotama asked as Lelouch tossed her a simple white dress off of the rack of the small clothing store they were currently standing in.

"We aren't aiming to let everyone know that you are a Sekirei, at least, not until we're ready to. We can't draw attention with your normal outfit, so get changed." Lelouch ordered, ushering Toyotama into the dressing room.

"Jeez, the fog still hasn't cleared up yet."

Suddenly, Lelouch's ears perked up as he overheard a conversation between two men standing outside of the shop. One of them was dressed with a hard hat and a tool bet, indicating that he was some sort of construction worker.

"It's already been a week. And there isn't fog anywhere else in the city. What kind of luck is that?" The other man, dressed in a similar outfit, replied.

"I know. We're already behind schedule, and this isn't helping us at all." The worker muttered before the two left, just as Toyotama exited the dressing room.

"Lelouch, what's wrong?" She asked as she noticed that Lelouch seemed to be deep in thought.

"A construction site?" Lelouch muttered to himself, "Could it be a Sekirei?"

"What happened?" Toyotama asked, confused.

"I just overheard some men talking about an unnatural fog in their construction site. Do you know of any Sekirei that have abilities related to that?" Lelouch asked, turning to Toyotama. As he did so, he almost jumped back in surprise as he took in her figure. The summer dress barely reached down to her knees, exposing a tantalizing amount of skin, something that Lelouch desperately tried to put out of his mind.

Toyotama put her fingers up to her chin as she racked her mind for any ideas, "I do remember that they had to shut down the labs a few times at MBI when the floors got filled up with fog. That was probably the work of the same Sekirei."

Lelouch nodded, "All right. Then it's settled. We're going to find that Sekirei and wing her."

Toyotama bit her lip as she resisted the urge to disagree with Lelouch's course of action. While she understood that gaining a larger group of Sekirei would only add to his power, at the same time, she wanted to have Lelouch all to herself. And now, with other Sekirei in the way, it seemed all to likely that he would simply forget about her once he gathered enough Sekirei.

* * *

"Sorry kid, but you can't walk through here. The fog is too thick and it's just plain dangerous to try and cross through. You'll have to go around." The foreman, a large man with a hard hat and bright orange vest informed Lelouch as he approached the construction site, which he saw was completely enshrouded in mist.

"I'm here to see if I can clear up the mist." Lelouch lied, hoping that it would convince the foreman to step aside.

"Really? See if you can't help the one who walked through here earlier then." The man said, relieved that some help had come.

"Earlier?" Lelouch exclaimed.

The man nodded, "Yeah, some kid walked through with an older girl, said he was here to find some prize, or something like that."

"Is that another Ashikabi?" Lelouch asked, Toyotama, who nodded.

"In all likelihood." She replied.

"Excuse me then. We're in a rush." Lelouch informed the man, stepping around him, directly into a wall of fog that instantly blocked his vision and enveloped his body. Glancing behind him, he found that he couldn't even see out of the fog, despite having taken only one step in.

"Lelouch, stay close to me." Toyotama advised as she stepped up behind him and clasped her hand around his, so that she could guide him through the mist.

"Can you see through it?" Lelouch asked, his eyes still straining to see through the impenetrable wall of water vapor.

"No, but I can sense the presence of another Sekirei nearby just enough so that I know where she is." Toyotama replied.

The two eased their way through the site, avoiding the random piles of materials that were scattered all throughout the grounds with some difficulty, given the low level of visibility.

"Wait a second, we're almost there." Toyotama informed Lelouch, letting go of his hand so that she could wield her spear with both hands.

With a grunt of exertion, Toyotama swung the bladed weapon across her body, forcing some of the fog to dissipate for a moment, revealing a gray haired woman dressed in an elegant white dress that was cut down the middle, exposing her midriff.

"So, we've found you." Toyotama sighed, allowing Lelouch to step forward.

"Are you the one causing all of this?" He asked, eyeing the woman with some interest.

"Yes, I, Number 65, Taki, am responsible." The woman announced in a grandiose and cheery voice.

"I figured you might be." Lelouch muttered to himself, "Then, would you be interested in joining me and Toyotama here?"

"Well, this is a disappointment." A rude voice rang out, interrupting Lelouch. In response, Taki held up her hand and instantly, the fog in their immediate vicinity seemed to thin out until there was a small pocket of visibility.

Lelouch and Toyotama turned to see a brown haired boy in expensive looking clothes walk up to them, accompanied by a black haired woman in a kimono, armed with a double sided blade.

"Now, I am very interested in winging this Sekirei and adding to my collection. So, if you mind stepping aside…" The boy prompted.

However, Lelouchu stood his ground, "I have no intention of doing anything of the sort. I have my own plans to wing her, and I won't be stopped."

"Handle this." The boy ordered angrily to the woman standing next to him.

"I am Himeko, Number 15." The woman introduced herself, stepping forward.

"I am Toyotama, Number 16." Toyotama replied, stepping forward herself, intending to engage the other Sekirei.

"Toyotama, what are you doing?" Lelouch asked.

"I'll win, Lelouch, trust me." Toyotama reassured, holding her spear out in front of her.

"Well, I'm really sorry that we had to meet each other so early. But don't worry, I'll end your life quickly enough." Himeko declared confidently, spinning her blade around deftly.

At this, Toyotama growled, a vein popping in her forehead as the insult reached her ears.

"Well, I'll promise the same." Toyotama snapped, responding with a twirl of her spear.

Without any warning, Himeko dashed forward, slashing with her weapon. With equally fast reflexes, Toyotama countered with her spear, knocking the course of Himeko's attack off just slightly, so that the Sekirei was forced to pull the attack to avoid falling over.

However, she was back on the attack within moments, using the momentum from her earlier attack to swing at Toyotama with more strength. Again, Toyotama was forced to respond with her spear, deflecting Himeko's attack, which had come with enough force to send sparks flying as metal met metal.

Allowing the attacks to flow into each other, Himeko sung, stabbed, and slashed at Toyotama from all directions, without any interruption to the attacks. It took all that Toyotama had just to parry each attack in turn, although it was clear to all witnessing the battle that she was slowly but surely being overpowered.

Noticing that the green haired Sekirei was now entirely focused on her blade, Himeko changed tactics and swept out Toyotama's feet with a swift kick, sending her tumbling.

Seeing his Sekirei put into a dangerous position, Lelouch stepped forward to aid her, but was stopped by Taki, who held out a hand to keep him from advancing.

"We cannot interfere in this fight. It is between the two Sekirei alone, and the Ashikabi will only be involved to use their Sekirei's Norito. Other than that, we cannot step in." She explained to a frustrated Lelouch, who watched helplessly as Toyotama was sent crashing.

He suddenly keeled over, overcome by a sensation that he knew all too well that paralyzed his figure and brought him to his knees with its intensity. It was a feeling of helplessness, one that had come when things were out of his estimation and control, wherein he was doomed to only act as a spectator, unable to take any real action to stop what was happening right in front of him. It had struck him when he had witnessed his Geass take its hold on Euphie, and now, he could feel the tides of weakness wash over him, taunting him with the knowledge that he was wasn't strong enough to step in.

As Toyotama's back met the ground, Himeko moved to stab the exposed Sekirei, with Toyotama managing to roll out of the way of the attack with an extra effort with her arms.

Watching in relief as Toyotama managed to survive what had essentially been a death blow, Lelouch felt his strength return to him. Relief washed over him, before he was hit by the sensation of shame. It wasn't going to happen again. He couldn't allow himself to fall victim to his own fears, he told himself as he got back up onto his feet, a determination in his eyes. Toyotama was relying on him as a leader, and he had to lead by example. When she was willing to put her life on the line for him, he owed it to her to at least play the part of a strong Ashikabi.

In frustration, Himeko thrust her blade forward once more, narrowly missing the squirming Sekirei underneath her and lodging her weapon into the ground. Sensing the small opening, Toyotama took advantage of the opportunity by pushing her legs into HImeko's stomach, forcing the Sekirei up into the air with the force of her kick and giving Toyotama just enough time to get back to her feet.

Falling back on her heels, Toyotama prepared for the onslaught to come, putting her spear up in a defensive stance. She had to hold her ground, or the fight would be over within seconds, that much she knew.

Just as expected, Himeko quickly recovered and instantly headed for Toyotama, taking no time before swinging her blade at her, finding it blocked once more by Toyotama's spear. For her part, Toyotama dug her heels into the dirt, not intending to give up any ground as Himeko pounded away relentlessly at her, just trying to find any opening she could.

Feeling sweat pouring down her face, Toyotama knew that she couldn't keep it up for much longer, and that she had to end the battle as quickly as she could. She glanced at Lelouch, who was clearly frustrated with his inability to step into the battle.

"Lelouch, we need to use my Norito!" Toyotama yelled frantically, using the moment to drive her shoulder into Himeko's stunning the Sekirei long enough for her to slip away and to reach Lelouch.

Toyotama grabbed Lelouch by the collar, roughly pulling him into a kiss, resulting in a huge burst of light as he wings sprouted and Toyotama felt her strength recover.

"My spear of vow, cut through the enemies of my Ashikabi!" Toyotama recited, wielding her spear with a new level of confidence and power, as her figure began to radiate an intense aura of strength.

With a new level of speed, Toyotama sprang forward, thrusting her spear forward with all of her might while Himeko attempted to move out of the way. However, Toyotama managed to graze her side, sending an intense blast of green energy into the hapless Sekirei's side, resulting in a small explosion that flung Himeko straight into the ground with a loud thud.

"Himeko!" The boy cried out, rushing to his Sekirei's side and preventing Toyotama from delivering a finishing blow, using his body as a shield. Toyotama hesitated, reluctant to break the rules and attack an Ashikabi.

"That's enough. We're pulling back for now." He said through gritted teeth, clearly wanting to retaliate, but lacking the means to do so. For now, retreat was the only viable solution.

"Well then, I think that this matter has been settled." Lelouch said, voice dripping with confidence, stepping up to Toyotama's side, the Sekirei still in a ready stance, prepared to continue the fight at any moment.

"Who exactly are you?" The boy asked, both fear and anger in his eyes.

"Me? You can call me…" Lelouch stopped for a moment, trying to decide exactly how to respond.

"Call me Zero."

* * *

**Well, Zero is back! As you can see, I've made the decision to make Taki Lelouch's next Sekirei. I know that she wasn't an option on the poll, and that was because I had always planned on using her in some capacity, as I think that her passive abilities are more useful to someone like Lelouch, who relies on tactics rather than brute strength. She can essentially act as a manager, who manipulates the battlefield to bring out the best in each of Lelouch's Sekirei, and I felt like that was something necessary for Lelouch.**

**In relation to this chapter, it's been a long while since I've written any sort of action, and frankly, I was a bit rusty, so if you guys could tell me how I did on it this week, I would really appreciate it! Remember, every tip and insight I gain now will be useful for the major fights later on, so it's in your best interest to tell me how to improve on action scenes now, if you guys are hoping for some really expansive and epic fights later!**

**Also, thanks for voting on my poll! It has really helped me to think about which Sekirei will be most useful in the long run, and right now, I'm leaning towards using Yomi and Yahan, although that can change, so don't be afraid to plead your Sekirei's case! I'm willing to listen to all suggestions, with the hopes that some lesser known Sekirei will get their chance.**

**As for my plans for the update schedule, don't be surprised if I can't squeeze in an update next week since I have finals all week, and I'm studying like crazy to keep my 5.0 GPA, so unfortunately, writing has to take a bit of a backseat to school for a little bit. But on the bright side, that means that summer is coming up and I'll hopefully have more time to update, so yay!**

**Anyways, as usual, keep the reviews and PMs up if you guys want this story to continue! I really appreciate any and all thoughts I can get! After the past few updates, I'm beginning to expect at least 35 reviews, so hopefully, you guys won't let me down!****Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks to all who reviewed. I really needed something positive after the disaster of a final I took. Honestly, though, I really hope you guys can enjoy this chapter and hopefully get me out of the rut I'm currently in. So please, enjoy the continuation of Code Sekirei!**

* * *

Chapter 7

"Well, I'm Hayato Mikogami, you would do well to remember that name as well!" The boy declared in an attempt to keep his head up, although Lelouch could tell that there was only a false confidence to his words. For someone well versed in the political arena, it wasn't hard to point out the telltale signs that Hayato was truly nervous. From the subtle shaking of his fingers to the slightly dilated pupils, it was clear to him that Hayato was afraid, although the boy was doing an admirable job of hiding his fear.

Lelouch sighed, "Don't lie to me. You're scared that you're going to die here, aren't you?"

Hayato gulped as Zero called out his bluff. There was just something about the glint in the man's eyes that shook him to the bone and made him nervous immediately. They jaded look of the violet irises told him that Zero had likely killed before, and was entirely ready to do so once more.

"Step away."

Toyotama immediately wrapped a hand around Lelouch's collar and dragged him backwards so that he would stand behind her as she stepped forward, ready to fight the intruder.

"Number 5, Mutsu." The Sekirei introduced himself. He had the appearance of a man with messy silver hair and cool grey eyes. His face was youthful, but it also showed signs of stress in the form of extremely slight creases on his brow, which was unblemished otherwise. He was dressed in a dark black outfit complimented by a bright orange scarf wrapped around the entirety of his neck that contrasted heavily with the rest of his attire. In his hand, he held a sheathed sword, although he seemed ready to draw it at any moment.

"A single number." Toyotama whispered with wide eyes. She knew that, especially in her current state, there was no way that she could fight another Sekirei, much less a single number.

"Finally! Go get them Mutsu!" Mikogami goaded, although Mutsu ignored him, instead choosing to forgo Toyotama and Lelouch so that he could check up on his Ashikabi.

"You've been through a lot today." He chided, turning to Himeko, "We're retreating."

"Retreating?" Mikogami whined, clearly not agreeing with the decision. However, he had no way to stop Mutsu, who picked him up by the nape of his neck, much like a cat tending to its kittens.

Before Lelouch even had a chance to fully comprehend what had just transpired, Mutsu had melted away into the mist, nowhere to be found.

Although a part of him was tempted to follow after the Sekirei, Lelouch stopped himself. He had to assess his situation. Right now, with Toyotama already fatigued from her earlier fight, compounded by the fact that they were now outnumbered, attacking would be fatal. On one hand, it was important to press the attack when one could, but on the other, every great commander knew when retreat was necessary. And right now, Lelouch knew that he had no other choice.

"Toyotama, how are you feeling?" He asked the green haired Sekirei, who was now supporting herself with her spear, no longer able to stand on her own strength.

"Tired." She replied frankly, although she was still ready to engage in combat if need be. As if to show her resolve, she pushed off of her spear, standing with her own strength and refusing to yield even as her knees began to quiver.

"And you?" Lelouch asked Taki, who had been sitting back and observing the whole time, a look of piqued interest on her face.

"I'm certainly no worse for the wear." She reassured, to which Lelouch nodded his head.

"Then you would be in condition to discuss my offer?" Lelouch asked. Normally, he would have skipped such formalities to obtain such an intriguing piece. However, there was the fact that he was not just seizing Knightmares for use, but instead, recruiting a new piece for his plans, which required more a gentle touch.

Especially for someone like Taki, who seemed far more cerebral than Toyotama, who was fueled by emotion. Someone like Toyotama was easy to manipulate, but for Taki, he knew that if he was not earnest in his efforts, she would likely see through his ruse.

"Of course. You are an intriguing one, after all." Taki replied with curiosity evident in her tone.

"Am I?" Lelouch chuckled.

The woman smiled in response, "First, I would like to ask you something. For what reason did you choose to participate in the Sekirei Plan?"

Lelouch smiled, "What do people wish for?"

"Well, they wish for many things. Humans desire power, wealth, and fame." Taki replied, reciting what she knew from the books on philosophy she had perused back in MBI Tower.

"But most of all, they desire the future." Lelouch corrected, "Of course, most humans don't know how to go about bringing the future, and so, they make wishes, asking for the assistance of others. I for one, am going to gamble on these wishes, and bring about a new world. It is the least I can do to atone for my past actions."

Taki stared at him for a moment before nodding along with his cryptic answer. It was a very interesting choice of words, and that only intensified her curiosity about him. In an instant, she could feel her entire body heat up with a combination of anticipation and excitement. Certainly, there was something about this man that evoked powerful feelings from her that she knew would only be quelled by making him her Ashikabi, "Very well. I am quite interested to see what will become of your journey, and I plan to see its conclusion as your Sekirei."

Taki slid over to Lelouch, before grabbing his head and smashing her lips onto his, large wings of light sprouting from her back in a brilliant display.

"You are now my Ashikabi, and I am now your Sekirei. What do you wish of me Master?" Taki asked as she pulled away from a shocked Lelouch.

"First, don't address me as Master. Just call me Lelouch. Second, I would appreciate it if you got rid of this fog."

"Done, Lelouch." Taki obeyed, holding her hand up. In an instant, all of the fog disappeared, seemingly whisked away by powerful gusts of wind, giving him a small taste of the power that Taki held.

* * *

Lelouch slowed his pace as he approached the door of their house. He quickly noticed that a pair of unfamiliar shoes were placed directly in front of the front door, and the lights were on inside, behind the closed curtains that prevented him from peering inside.

"Someone's inside." Lelouch warned Toyotama, who nodded and stepped in front of him, ready to face whatever threat was lying inside.

Carefully, she turned the doorknob to find that it was unlocked, despite the fact that Lelouch had taken the only key with him when they had left earlier. With as little sound as possible, Toyotama eased open the door to find an empty doorway.

Without warning, a white blur shot out straight at Toyotama, who managed to put up her spear in time to stop the attack. The white cloth careened off, stopping just short of smashing into the roof, before it was quickly retracted by its owner, a figure clothed entirely in a robe made out of the same white cloth.

"Lelouch?" The figure suddenly asked in a surprised voice, and immediately, Lelouch knew who he was dealing with.

"Uzume. What are you doing in my house?" Lelouch asked, stepping out in front of Toyotama, who looked at the new Sekirei in suspicion.

"Well, the Chairman gave us the spare key, and we thought that someone was trying to break in." Uzume admitted sheepishly, scratching the back of her head.

"Lelouch, is it really you?" Chiho asked in a quivering voice, stepping out into the doorway. For a moment, she felt time stop as she took in the sight of Lelouch, with the moonlight reflecting perfecting off of his face, so that it seemed like he was glowing faintly, illuminating his features, which seemed even more handsome than the last time she had seen them.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." Chiho lunged forward, latching onto Lelouch's torso and burying her face into his chest, so that he would not see the tears staining her face.

For a moment, Lelouch looked down at the girl in surprise, before he gave a smile of his own and gently ran a hand through Chiho's silky brown hair.

From her vantage point, Uzume's face soured as she watched the exchange, a feeling of envy filling her veins, shortly before it was replaced by shame. Biting her lip, she turned to leave the room, an action that was not missed by Toyotama, who followed her out of the hallway, away from the two Ashikabi.

"What's wrong with you?" Toyotama demanded from Uzume, who stopped, refusing to face her fellow Sekirei as they both stepped out into the backyard.

"What is wrong with me? Am I really so heartless that I could be jealous right now?" Uzume chuckled dryly. Immediately, Toyotama understood why Uzume had stepped outside. For any Sekirei, it was painful to watch their Ashikabi lovingly embrace someone other than themselves. They wanted to be the center of their Ashikabi's life, and seeing someone else take that place was absolutely devastating.

Toyotama shook her head, "You aren't heartless. You just love Chiho, like I love Lelouch."

"But I can't stand seeing her happy in anyone else's arms. Shouldn't I be satisfied with her happiness? Instead, I am here, smoldering in my own envy." Uzume sighed, clearly feeling ashamed of herself.

"That's how any Sekirei would naturally react to being displaced in their Ashikabi's hearts." Toyotama reassured, causing Uzume to arch her eyebrows.

"Oh really, then why don't you feel the same?" She asked.

At this, Toyotama bit her lip slightly, trying to rack her mind for any solutions. It was an interesting point that Uzume had made, but at the same time, she knew the answer in the back of her mind, as much as she didn't want to admit it.

"Maybe we never had enough of a connection to begin with." Toyotama suggested, some of the life leaving her voice as she spoke.

"So, Chiho, what are you doing here? If I were you, I would just leave the city before the Sekirei Plan goes into effect." Lelouch asked as he took a seat on the newly delivered couch, admiring the comfort of the leather seats for a moment.

"Well, no one is really waiting for me out there, unfortunately, so I don't really have anywhere to go." Chiho explained, "Actually, I was hoping that you would be able to help me out with that. I know I've already relied on you for so much, but…"

"Don't." Lelouch interrupted, "I'd be happy to let you stay here until you find a way to sort things out."

"I can't thank you enough, Lelouch." Chiho bowed her head slightly in thanks.

Lelouch nodded, looking at the arrangement as a serious advantage. With the presence of not only Taki now, but also Uzume, it would make his home suddenly a much less desirable target for both Higa and Mikogami, both of whom no doubt were seeking revenge. Now matter how they cut it, it was harder to attack a house with three Sekirei than a house with two Sekirei. Of course, part of his motivation was also genuine concern for Chiho, but still, he couldn't deny the implications that having Uzume around would be beneficial to his safety and gave him more time to plan out his next few moves.

"Say, would you mind if I kissed you?" Chiho suddenly asked, catching Lelouch by surprise with the request.

"S-sure." Lelouch stammered, finding himself uncharacteristically nervous. Normally, when it came to women, he could exude pure charisma without any sort of hesitation or fear, and yet, when Chiho wanted to kiss him, he suddenly lost all of his confidence and cool.

Carefully, Chiho shifted over, so that her shoulder was gently rubbing up against Lelouch's and she gently leaned in, so that their breaths were intermixed from their proximity. With a slight hesitation, Chiho pressed her lips to Lelouch's , allowing Lelouch to reciprocate the kiss for a moment before they broke away.

"The guest bedroom is at the end of the hall on the second floor." Lelouch said quickly as Chiho nodded and dashed up the stairs, cheeks bright red.

Once he was certain that she had left, Lelouch gingerly placed a finger on his lips, to reassure himself that they were not numb. Finding that their sense of touch had not eroded one bit, he scratched his head slightly in confusion. Was it really possible that he had felt nothing from that kiss? It didn't really seem possible, considering all that had transpired between him and Chiho lately, but here was the truth, staring him right in the face. That kiss had not set off any fireworks, nor had it made his heart rush with excitement.

It was nice, sure, but it didn't really mean anything. Somehow, he had lost the passion he had once felt for Chiho. There was no desire, no lust. Only a slight feeling of warmth that contained nice sentiments, but no real sustenance. It had felt…familial. Almost as if he had been kissing Nunnally goodnight or something.

"Hey, Lelouch, do you have a minute?" Toyotama asked as she stepped back into the living room to find the raven haired teen staring blankly at the ceiling. As she spoke, she saw his eyes roll over to examine her figure, and he roughly jerked his head up, sending his shaggy bangs flying in all directions. For a moment, she considered backing out of the room and leaving him alone before he stopped her with his voice.

"Sure. What do you need?"

Toyotama nervously sat down beside her Ashikabi, who shifted over to allow her more space. Although it was a courteous move, Toyotama couldn't help but to feel disappointed by the fact that Lelouch instinctively moved away from her, almost like she was some sort of pathogen.

"Tell me, am I important to you?" Toyotama asked, causing Lelouch to blink once.

"Sure. You're my Q-1. My plans would be rendered useless without you." He replied matter of factly, with a hint of detachment to his tone.

Toyotama shook her head, "That's not what I mean."

"Oh." Lelouch replied, a comfortable silence coming between them. The two sat next to each other silently, neither one wanting to speak up, Toyotama due to her nervousness and Lelouch due to his preoccupying thoughts.

"Is there…is there something between us?" Toyotama finally managed, quickly regretting her words as Lelouch looked straight forward, his expression never wavering, even as he heard her words.

However, she had come too far now to be stopped. In one swift motion, she swung her hips towards Lelouch, so that she was straddling him, with her hands placed firmly on his chest so that he would not move.

"Please, I need to know." Toyotama pleaded, her voice cracking slightly as she felt uncertainty and fear overtake her body. What if it was true, and Lelouch didn't really love her, as Uzume had suggested earlier. What if they didn't have a true connection, and Lelouch was only her Ashikabi out of convenience? What if her love for him was misguided?

From her close proximity, Lelouch could feel his heartbeat suddenly quicken, and a feeling of anticipation smoldered within his stomach, a sensation that could only be described as an excruciating anticipation. He gulped, trying to think rationally, but he found that his head was clouded, filled with a haze that was both frustrating and oddly soothing. It was almost as if he was on some drug that was making him feel relaxed the more he stared at Toyotama's face, which he just realized was exceptionally beautiful from her slender cheeks to her pale blue eyes.

What was happening to him? Could he actually be falling for Toyotama? In the back of his mind, the thought that perhaps he was being affected by the bond he shared with Toyotama, but in that moment, he was too preoccupied with the thought that her lips seemed incredibly kissable. Painfully so.

The two of them stayed absolutely still, almost as if they were frozen, just allowing each one to stare down the other as they felt their respective heartbeats fly through the roof. Lelouch faintly felt his fingertips shake with excitement as Toyotama cautiously inched her face towards his, until they were millimeters apart.

For her part, Toyotama was oblivious to Lelouch's reaction, uncertainty still ruling her actions and thoughts. All that was racing through her mind was the desire to know exactly how he felt about her, with no room for anything else in her one track mind. However, at the same time, she found herself unable to close the gap, a fear that she would be rejected suddenly arising within her.

To her surprise, Lelouch acted first, lifting his head so that his lips were softly pressed to hers. Toyotama's eyes bulged as she realized that she was kissing Lelouch. Within moments, surprise shifted to desire as she hungrily kissed back, frantically swiping her fingers through Lelouch's silky locks, as she inhaled his scent, giving a euphoric moan as she did so. The world was dark, completely irrelevant when compared to the sensations of pleasure that she was feeling as a result of Lelouch's deliberate strokes up and down the creases of her back in his desperate search for a surface to latch onto, settling on the small of her back as an acceptable spot, his very touch sending shocks through her system.

Underneath her, Lelouch grunted slightly as Toyotama's deft fingers worked their way down from his hair to his chest, where she gently ghosted over his receptive skin and sent shivers down his spine as he felt his logic and reasoning disappear. He didn't care about anything else but the woman in front of him currently feeling him up.

Their lips parted slightly, giving them each a chance to catch their breath as the full ramifications of what they had just done became apparent.

"Well, does that answer your question?" Lelouch chuckled, some semblance of thought being restored to him.

Toyotama nodded, dumbfounded. With her mind completely fried from the sheer shock over the turn of events, she lay her head into Lelouch's chest, allowing him to snake his arms around hers, just content to be in his presence. What mattered was that she was in love with him, and he was in love with her, and nothing could ever change that. Not now, not ever.

* * *

Minaka sat back in his chair, feeling a stirring in his blood as he did so. The white haired scientist grinned madly for a second, just as Takami noticed the sudden change in his disposition.

"What is it this time?" She growled, ready for any random assortment of responses.

"Tell me Takami, what makes a great Ashikabi?" Minaka asked.

"Well, there are a variety of factors to be considered. Genes are certainly a part of it, although external forces exert certain effects on the state of an Ashikabi." Takami answered with a knowledgeable tone.

Minaka shrugged his shoulders, "Of course, that it true. However, what it really comes down to is a reciprocal relationship. An Ashikabi cannot hope to be powerful without first understanding their Sekirei, and vice versa. Of course, they do not realize it, but slowly, each of the Ashikabi and Sekirei involved thus far have created powerful bonds already. Almost as if years of interaction were compressed into a short span of a few weeks.

Even for someone who has proven to be an intelligent and rational human being like Lelouch, it is unavoidable that he should begin to feel what his Sekirei feels towards him. We knew that Toyotama would be an affectionate one, and it's begun to manifest itself inside of Lelouch as well. It was unavoidable, especially considering that he and Minato hold the greatest potential for a shared existence that we could have possibly foreseen. They simply interact with their Sekirei on a different plane than most Ashikabi do."

"So are you saying that Minato and Lelouch are different from other Ashikabi?" Takami asked, scared to know the answer.

"They certainly are unique, that much is certain."

* * *

In an uninhabited corner of a seedy bar, a woman with dark purple hair sat alone, wistfully running her finger along the edge of her empty cup of sake. She was quite the looker, with a buxom figure and features that just oozed sex appeal from every pore in her body. On most nights, men would be crowded around a woman like her, offering to buy her drinks and whatnot. But tonight, she was completely by herself, without another soul in sight, save for the exhausted bartender, who was currently in the process of closing up the bar.

"Say, shouldn't you get going? It's pretty late already." He asked worriedly, knowing that a woman in the wrong state of mind was easy prey for the predators of Tokyo.

"All right." She slurred, stumbling to her feet, clearly drunk. With the skill of an experienced practitioner, she staggered into the door, fumbling with the handle until she managed to turn it, revealing her body to the crisp wind of the night. Although it did not completely sober her up, her senses were somewhat restored by the drastic change in environments. For a moment, her body called out for a return to the warmth and coziness of the bar, but considering that the door was already locked behind her, there was no way for her to return there.

"Is there really anywhere for me to go?" She asked herself, still feeling the pronounced ache of a broken heart. For a moment, she paused, considering her options. She could try to take to the skies to scour for more places to drink, or she could try her luck on the ground.

Deciding on the latter, the woman glanced up at the street sign, finding it nothing more than a blob of writing that was completely unintelligible. Cursing slightly under her breath, she scratched the back of her head awkwardly, realizing that she was lost.

"In more ways than one." She muttered as she decided on a simple looking two story house as an acceptable place to ask for directions.

Maybe it would hold the answers she was searching for.

* * *

**As I mentioned above, I was really depressed by my results and I really struggled with this chapter as a result. My confidence was really hurt, and I don't know how much more I can write in this state. I might get around to rewriting this chapter if it isn't up to snuff, but really, I don't feel like doing anything at all, much less writing. I don't know, maybe you guys can lift my spirits with a few reviews. Other than that, I honestly am not in the mood to really say anything else,so please, leave your thoughts below. I would really appreciate some reviews or PMs. Thanks for reading so far, and expect the updates to return to their weekly rate from now on, as long as I get an adequate response. Otherwise, I'm going to put this story and all others on hiatus until I get over my rut, so please, if you guys want to see this story continued, leave your thoughts in a review or a PM.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Just stick around after the chapter for my main author's note. I have some important things to say, so until then, enjoy the continuation of Code Sekirei!**

* * *

Chapter 8

Lelouch groaned as he groggily lifted his head up, only to have his face entrenched in a tuft of forest green hair. For a moment, he glanced around in a panic, before he remembered exactly where he was. Right now, he was tangled with Toyotama, who had spent the night with him on the couch in the lving room of their home.

"Well, this is quite the predicament, isn't it?" Taki chuckled from her spot up against the wall. She was currently dressed in a spare white t shirt and jeans that Uzume had loaned her the night before, finding that they wore roughly the same size clothes, although Taki's figure was a bit less developed than the Veiled Sekirei's. Still, the tight fabric did its part to accentuate Taki's already curvaceous body.

Lelouch shrugged his shoulders as he gently rolled Toyotama's figure off of him, marveling at how soundly she was sleeping. He scooted along the seat until he was finally free, and eased Toyotama down into a more comfortable position for her to continue sleeping in. For her part, Toyotama softly mumbled something in her slumber, following up with a smile that indicated that she was once again having pleasant dreams, a phenomenon Lelouch had observed before.

"It was a mistake." Lelouch sighed as he clearly recalled the conversation that he shared with Toyotama the night before, as well as their…kiss. That was hard to forget, especially when the sensation of Toyotama's luscious lips on his own was still ingrained in his memory, refusing to be erased, despite his best efforts.

"Was it really? You certainly looked like you enjoyed it last night." Taki replied with an amused smile plastered on her face.

Lelouch froze for a second before he shook his head, "It doesn't matter if I enjoyed it. I can't let it happen again."

"Just like with Chiho, huh?" Taki mused to herself, although it was clear to both of them that she intended for him to hear it as well.

"What do you mean?" Lelouch asked defensively.

Taki knew she had struck a chord, "Don't lie to me. You were disappointed by that kiss, weren't you?"

"I don't understand it. One minute, I was madly in love with her and the next, she meant nothing to me. Why is that?" Lelouch muttered as he pulled at his hair. He was confused beyond belief, with his emotions and thoughts running haywire. All he wanted was to try and understand the storm that was brewing within him.

"You know why that kiss felt different. It was because you wanted it that way." Taki replied, causing Lelouch to bite his lip.

"That can't be right." He insisted.

"You said it yourself. You couldn't let it happen again." Taki explained.

Lelouch sat back. It was true. Every word of it. The truth was that he couldn't allow anyone to get close to him again. Not after Euphie, and Shirley, and Rolo, and all of those who had died for his sake. They loved him, and he knew that love only led to one thing, death and destruction. He would not allow Chiho to die for his sake, and he could not allow Toyotama to feel attached to him. They had so much to live for, while he had nothing.

He would not be responsible for another death, not when he had caused so many. There wasn't a feeling in the world that could compare to the despair and horror that he had felt when he had seen Euphie die. To know that he had failed the one he loved, and to know that it was his fault that she would never see her dream become a reality was crushing.

"Tell me Lelouch, why are you trying to push everyone away?" Taki asked.

"Because I can't let them die for me." Lelouch said bitterly.

Taki crossed to sit next to Lelouch, "But that is what we do for someone we love. You would do the same for us, wouldn't you?"

He nodded, "Of course, but that's not the same."

"But our only wish as Sekirei is to be with you. Trust me, Toyotama and I love you, and if you died, where would that leave us? We need you to survive, in more ways than you think." Taki said emphatically.

Lelouch gritted his teeth, "Love me? We've barely known each other for a day."

"As a Sekirei and Ashikabi, our bonds go beyond normal human interactions." Taki explained, understanding that Lelouch was confused at the moment. She slinked an arm around him, pulling him tight, "Don't face it all alone. You don't have to. There are people here who care about you, and you cannot run from them. Please."

"Stop." Lelouch said coldly, forcefully pushing Taki away, although he was careful not to hurt her.

"I have a responsibility to protect all of you, and I won't let you prevent me from doing so." He insisted, walking out of the room and leaving a concerned Taki behind.

* * *

Lelouch swept a hand through his hair, sighing as he did so. He knew that Taki was trying to help, and he understood why she was set on trying to console him, but at the same time, he knew that he couldn't afford to allow his emotions to rule his actions. He wanted to agree with her, but he knew that ultimately, it would only lead to more pain for all of them. He had to be cold, no matter how much it hurt her and Toyotama, because if he wasn't, he would only expedite their demise.

Determined to get his mind off of the topic, he decided that he should take a walk to try and clear his head. Some fresh air would really do him good at the moment. He opened up the front door silently, not wanting to alert anyone else of where he was going.

What he didn't expect was to find a woman lying on the ground right in front of him. Repressing a gasp, he kneeled down to inspect the woman with dark purple hair. She was dressed in an extremely low cut and extremely short Chinese dress that displayed her impressive figure for all to see. She seemed to be in a deep slumber, taking long, drawn out breaths that were so soft that he had almost thought that she was dead for a moment.

Putting the thoughts of taking a walk out of his mind, Lelouch tapped the woman on the side, causing her face to scrunch up in discomfort as he interrupted her slumber.

"Are you okay?" He asked as she sat up and opened up her eyes.

"Fine, I suppose." She yawned, eyes suddenly widening as she took in his appearance.

"Is something wrong?" Lelouch asked as she sat up.

She shook her head, "Oh nothing. I mistook you for someone for a second."

"Right." He said suspiciously, the woman rising to her full height, which was still a few inches below his tall but lanky figure.

"So what exactly are you doing at my door?" Lelouch asked, crossing his arms as he carefully looked her over, finding that she was quite beautiful by all conventional standards. Beyond that, she cut an impressive figure that was only complimented by her revealing dress.

"Why? Don't you have women showing up at your door all the time?" She replied flirtatiously, copying him and crossing her arms underneath her impressive chest.

He chuckled, "Oddly enough, I do have a habit of drawing women to my home."

"But you'll find that getting me to do the same won't be that easy. I need to see something from you first." The woman replied.

"Really? Let me introduce myself then. Lelouch." He smiled, holding out a hand.

"Kazehana." She replied, gently taking that hand and shaking it lightly. As she did so, she felt a slight tingling warmth shoot through her entire system.

"Well then, Kazehana, would you be interested in taking a walk with me?" Lelouch suggested.

* * *

"You are quite the heavy drinker." Lelouch observed as Kazehana downed another glass of beer right in front of his face, not showing the slightest sign of intoxication yet, despite the fact that she had already drunk several glasses.

"What can I say? It's one of my many skills." She replied with a lopsided grin, one that made Lelouch instantly smile in response.

They were currently sitting in a rather upscale bar and, despite the fact that it was still early in the morning, Kazehana was trying to get drunk, although, by all indications, she was failing miserably in her task.

"Hey, kid, you might want to watch your girlfriend." The bartender said cautiously, watching Kazehana with a wary eye as she effortlessly cruised through another beer.

"She's not my girlfriend." Lelouch insisted, relieving a scoff in reply.

"Well, let's move on." Kazehana suddenly declared, slamming down her final glass and standing up, whipping out a black MBI card to pay for the drinks.

"An MBI card, hm?" Lelouch whispered to himself. To be honest, he wasn't fooled by her act. It was clear to him that she was not any normal human, and the appearance of an MBI card only served to reinforce his notions. Without a doubt, this Kazehana was a Sekirei. And he was definitely interested in adding to his small army.

The two of them exited the bar to find themselves in the middle of downtown Tokyo, surrounded on all sides by the towering skyscrapers of the cityscape and hundreds of men and women, all seemingly in a rush. However, amongst all of the hustle and bustle of the city, Lelouch's eye was drawn to a lone woman.

She was dressed almost as if she were a shrine maiden, with her hair tied up with a large ribbon. Standing alone in the street, she was walking up to random strangers with the same question.

"Are you my Ashikabi?" She asked over and over again to unresponsive strangers who simply ignored her.

"Poor thing." Kazehana suddenly sighed with a motherly tone lacing her words.

"Tell me Kazehana, do you have an Ashikabi?" Lelouch asked, placing his hands in his pockets as she cracked a smile.

"I had a feeling you would figure it out soon enough." She admitted.

"So? Do you have an Ashikabi?" Lelouch repeated.

Kazehana grinned, "No. But that might change soon."

"Then I hope that I'm not too forward in asking you to join my team." Lelouch suggested, causing Kazehana to giggle slightly.

"Oh come on. You have to try harder than that. Haven't you ever heard of taking it slow before the first kiss?" She replied, causing Lelouch to raise an eyebrow in interest.

"Well then, may I interest you in a date?" Lelouch offered. Now that he knew for sure that Kazehana was indeed an unwinged Sekirei, he had no intention of allowing her to leave in that state. She radiated an aura of strength, and he knew that winging her would be invaluable.

"Maybe next time." Kazehana teased, suddenly allowing herself to be lifted off of the ground by a powerful gust of wind. Before he could do anything else to stop her, she winked at him and soared off, carried by the same gust of wind.

Taking in the sight, Lelouch suddenly received a text, indicated by a buzzing in his pocket. He snapped open his phone to find that he had received a message from Minaka.

"The Green Girl is located in the botanical gardens. The first to reach her will be her owner." He read aloud, eyes widening. This was yet another chance to add to his group, an opportunity he would not let slip away.

Quickly, he dialed his home phone number, upon which Taki answered the phone.

"Yes Lelouch?" She asked, with a slight edge to her voice.

"Take Toyotama and meet me at the botanical gardens. We have some business to handle." Lelouch replied, snapping his phone shut as he took off in the direction of the sizeable botanical gardens, a plan already formulating in his mind.

* * *

By the time he reached the front entrance, Lelouch was met by the sight of a destroyed tank and what was left of a small military unit. His nose crinkled at the scent of burnt flesh and gasoline, which permeated the scene.

"Stop right there." A man in a military outfit and the letters MBI printed across his chest ordered.

Lelouch glanced at the automatic rifle hanging across his shoulder and reluctantly complied.

However, before the man could take another step, he was suddenly swept off of his feet by a blast of air striking him directly in the chest. Before anyone else could react, the other soldiers were sent flying as well, each as a result of a burst of wind.

Lelouch stared up at the sky to see Kazehana touch down beside him, a grin on her face.

"You really know how to show a girl a good time." She chuckled.

Lelouch nodded, already calculating Kazehana's presence into his plan, "Thanks for the help. I would have been stuck until the rest of my Sekirei arrived."

"Lelouch!"

As if on cue, Lelouch saw Toyotama and Taki approach him, accompanied by two other figures.

"Absolutely not." He growled as Chiho and Uzume stopped in front of him.

"Please Lelouch, I don't want to just sit around waiting for you to do everything. I want to help you." Chiho pleaded.

"It's going to be dangerous, and you could get hurt." Lelouch insisted.

"Please, I lived on the edge of death for sixteen years. I'm pretty sure that I'm not scared of that." Chiho replied.

Lelouch sighed, realizing that Chiho wasnot going to be deterred.

"Fine. But you listen to my orders." He grumbled, gesturing to Taki.

"Can you cover the botanical gardens in fog?" He asked.

"It's going to be hard to extend that far, but I think I can do it." She replied, putting her hands out in front of her, small droplets of water compounding instantaneously. Before their eyes, a curtain of fog was quickly formed as the droplets smashed together to create a wall of grey moisture.

"That should slow down those already inside, but we can't afford to be slow. Let's hurry." Lelouch said, taking off into the entrance of the botanical gardens, with the rest following behind him obediently.

They had been running for what had seemed like an eternity when voices faintly sprung up, indicating that they were finally reaching their destination.

"Toyotama, Uzume, we're going to ambush whoever is out there. I want you two to circle around and focus an attack on their right flank as soon as Kazehana and I engage them." Lelouch ordered, with Uzume and Toyotama nodding and running off to accomplish their task.

However, beside him, Kazehana shook her head in disapproval, "Are you really going to ignore the normal rules of etiquette of Sekirei battles?"

"This isn't just a battle anymore. This is a war, and in war, there are no rules." Lelouch replied, stepping forward to meet the enemy. As he did so, Taki temporarily allowed the fog blinding them to dissipate, to allow Lelouch a chance to see exactly who he was facing as he walked into a small clearing.

"Who's out there?" A gruff voice called out, belonging to a brown haired man with a gruff appearance, flanked by two twin women whose hands crackled with electricity.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Zero." Lelouch announced as he stepped forward with Kazehana at his side. He strode forward with a confidence that created a picture of strength and power.

"Seo." The man replied, instinctively stepping backwards as he noticed the way Lelouch carried himself. He instantly sensed that there was something incredibly dangerous about the teen standing in front of him and felt a chill creep down his spine as he stared into a pair of glimmering violet eyes.

"Alright, enough of this!" One of the women growled, stepping forward with her twin.

"Hikari, Number 11."

"Hibiki, Number 12." The two of them announced simultaneously.

"Very well, I'll handle this." Kazehana whispered to Lelouch as she stepped forward herself.

"Kazehana, Number 3." She replied with a smug smile as she watched their reactions.

"Shit, a single number." Hikari exclaimed as her sister nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, a white veil shot out of some bushes, wrapping itself around Hibiki's leg and holding her tightly. Before she had a chance to even registered what had happened, Toyotama leapt out of a tree and swung her spear like a bat, smashing the blunt end into Hibiki's face and sending the Sekirei tumbling backwards with a grunt.

"Toyotama, Number 16." She stated before she moved to engage Hikari as well, who barely had enough time to react as Toyotama stabbed her spear forward.

With a growl, Hikari grabbed the metal tip of the spear and sent a wave of electricity coursing through the entire body of the spear, the metallic body acting as a conductor. With a shocked scream, Toyotama flailed back, electricity coursing through her veins. She squirmed around as the attack ran its course, sending her into convulsions as she desperately tried to get back to her feet.

Sensing a moment of weakness, Hikari slammed her foot down on Toyotama's chest, intending to finish her off with a final blow when her arm was wrapped up by another white veil that snapped back to its owner, dragging along the unfortunate Sekirei caught in its grasp. Hikari was stretched out in front of a brown haired Sekirei completely dressed in white robes who appeared to be in control of the veils.

"Uzume, Number 10."

Before Hikari could try to find a way to break the grip the cloth had on her, she was accosted by a fist driving into her stomach, causing her to spit up blood as she felt the knuckles rub into her gut. Her world began to darken in front of her, even as another fist crashed into her face.

Meanwhile, Hibiki had managed to pick herself up, and she was enraged by the sneak attack that had left her with a red mark and a quickly forming bruise.

"Hikari!" She cried out, knowing that their powers were severely limited when they were separated.

"Don't let them join together!" Lelouch yelled out as Seo came at him as well, swinging wildly. The larger man was more powerful with his larger figure, and he had more combat experience. However, Lelouch found that he was out of control, and that fact made it possible for him to keep some distance between them, despite his lower stamina.

As Seo punched forward, Lelouch sprawled out on the ground, frantically rolling off so that he could scramble to his feet and duck underneath another swing.

"Stop!" Chiho screamed, grabbing a branch off of the ground to use as a weapon. Gripping it tightly with both hands, she flung the piece of wood at Seo, striking him in the back and causing him to howl in pain as the branch splintered off upon impact.

Taking advantage of the stunned Seo, Lelouch dove forward, tackling the man to the ground. As the two of them grappled with each other, Toyotama had finally managed to pick herself up and grabbed her spear to intercept Hibiki, per Lelouch's instruction.

"Stop!" Toyotama yelled as she slashed forward, forcing Hibiki to stop and to focus her attention on fighting Toyotama.

Hibiki fired off a bolt of electricity which Toyotama dodged with a quick step to the side. Using her momentum from that step, Toyotama shot forward with dizzying speed and slammed the body of her spear into Hibiki's body.

Gasping as she had the wind knocked out of her, Hibiki had no time to react as Toyotama swept out her legs and sent her to the ground. She attempted to sit up, but she was quickly pinned down by the blunt end of Toyotama's spear driving itself into her chest.

"She's down, Lelouch." Toyotama said as she took particular pleasure in watching Hibiki helplessly flail underneath her, just as Lelouch was thrown off by Seo, who was in poor condition, especially with his Sekirei out of action.

"Should we terminate these Sekirei?" Uzume asked as she walked up with an unconscious Hikari, dropping the Sekirei's limp form on the ground.

"Don't you dare touch them anymore!" Seo screamed, crawling to his Sekirei and wrapping his arm protectively around her.

Wiping some blood off a cut that had formed on his upper lip, Lelouch shook his head.

"Thank you for making our job easier." A familiar voice rang out behind them.

Lelouch turned his head to see the forms of several Sekirei, and at their head, Hayato Mikogami.

* * *

**First off, I can't articulate how much I want to thank you all. Your support has just been amazing. I mean truly, I am speechless at how the community has come together to support me and my story. I truly am beyond blessed to have you all as my fabulous readers. I was in a tough place last week, and you guys really helped me to fight through and to continue on with my life, so truly, I have you all to thank for my continuing desire to write for you guys. **

**However, despite all of that, this chapter was hard to write, to say the least. I'm sort of hitting a rough patch with this story, and it's showing in what I'm putting out. Hopefully, you guys enjoyed the talk in the beginning, because I feel like that was an important discussion for Lelouch to have, so that he realizes that he is actively pushing away those that he loves for their safety, but also, for his own. He can't feel secure knowing that he might put others in danger, and thus, he severs his connections with them.**

**Unfortunately, or perhaps, fortunately, I'm going to be out of the state next week for a tournament, so I won't be able to update. But I think that it's better that way, so that I can step away from the computer for a bit and allow my ideas to come back to me naturally, so that I can put out better work for you guys. **

**Anyways, as usual, please leave a review or a PM to let me know what you guys thought of this chapter, and please, if you guys could give me some feedback on the action scenes this time around, it would be greatly appreciated. I'm still trying to figure them out, and that might take some time, but I really want to get them right by the end of this story, so any thoughts I can get now will go a long way. **

**Thank you all so much for reading so far!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello again, my dear readers! I've finally returned after my self imposed hiatus and out of state tournament. It really helped to recharge my batteries, and I'm happy to say that I expect to return to updating at my regular speed, this chapter aside. I had some trouble writing it out, and thus, this is a shorter update. But hopefully, you guys will all enjoy the continuation of Code Sekirei!**

* * *

Chapter 9

"Mikogami." Lelouch growled as he turned to face down the brown haired boy, who had a confident smirk on his face as he strode forward, Sekirei on both sides. Immediately, he recognized the larger silver haired Sekirei as Mutsu and the blade wielding woman as Himeko. For her part, Himeko's eyes narrowed as she stared down Toyotama, who replied in turn with a glare of her own while Mutsu's eyes widened in surprise as he took in the sight of Lelouch's squad, along with a pair of injured Sekirei and a man who he assumed to be their Ashikabi standing protectively in front of them.

"Kazehana?" He exclaimed, a hint of worry in his expression as she nodded in response.

"Glad to see you remember me, Mutsu!" She replied, smirking as she did so. In response, he took a wary step backwards, crouching down into a ready stance, so that he could parry any attack coming.

"What's going on?" Mikogami asked in an annoyed tone.

"Kazehana is a single number, so she's easily the most dangerous Sekirei we're facing right now." Mutsu informed his Ashikabi, who looked understandably shaken.

Lelouch gritted his teeth as he assessed the situation. Overall, none of his Sekirei had taken any serious damage in their earlier fight, but at the same time, he couldn't afford to waste any more time. The message about the Green Girl had likely been sent to every Ashikabi in the city, and if he waited any longer, it was entirely possible for someone else to swoop in and wing her.

"Taki, we don't have time for this." Lelouch whispered to his Sekirei, who nodded and lifted up her hand, instantly causing the air to cool and for a thick curtain of fog to rise over the battlefield, completely shrouding the path in a gray cloud of moisture. He knew that it would only leave Mikogami stalled for a few minutes at the most, but that would be all the time he needed, if all went according to plan.

"Chiho, do you think you can handle this?" Lelouch asked worriedly.

"Just keep going, Lelouch. Uzume and Kazehana can hold him off long enough for you to make it. I promise." Chiho replied confidently with an impatient glint in her eyes. Instantly, Lelouch recognized the look as one that he had seen in his own face before many times over in his initial campaign, when he was still a naïve boy who was jumping at the chance to possibly topple the mightiest empire in the world. It was both frightening and reassuring to know that Chiho was eager to continue fighting.

"Toyotama, come with me. We're moving forward." Lelouch informed the green haired Sekirei, trying to put the thought out of his mind. For now, he could do nothing more than to trust in Chiho to provide him enough time to make his move.

"Clear a path for us." Lelouch ordered, and instantly, the fog dissipated in front of his eyes, leaving him a clear path to navigate. He hated having to run from a fight, but if he wanted to get to the Green Girl, he would have to save their encounter for another time.

Chiho took a deep breath as she watched the fog swallow up Lelouch and Toyotama, leaving nothing more than a tranquil wall of gray in their place. She anxiously ran a finger down her dress as she listened to their footsteps get gradually softer, until she could no longer hear them, no matter how her ears strained.

This was the chance she had been waiting for, right? For sixteen years, she had been confined to a bed as she tried to fight against the world, which had seemed hell bent on pushing her down and keeping her there. And she had enough. Now that she had been given a second chance by Lelouch, she was going to take advantage of it. She was going to fight back.

"Taki, do you mind cutting out the mist?" Chiho asked the gray haired Sekirei, who shrugged and lowered her hand, allowing the mist to melt away into the ground, allowing Chiho to get a better look at her opponents. Her hand shook, not with fear, but with excitement as she realized that she was going to be on her own, for the first time. And it felt incredible.

She glanced at Uzume, and without any words lost between them, the veiled Sekirei nodded in understanding. They weren't going with any sort of special strategy, or anything of the sort. Chiho was trusting in her to finish the fight, and finish it she would.

With a determined countenance, Uzume stepped forward and punched one arm forward, sending one strip of white cloth fashioned as a spear forward in accordance with her attack. At the sudden attack, Mikogami jumped back in surprise while Mutsu calmly angled his sword so that the attack was deflected off to the side.

Quickly reeling in the loose veil, Uzume was at once on the move, strafing sideways, just as Mutsu stabbed his sword into the ground, sending a powerful shockwave her way. The ground underfoot groaned as it was split by the force of his attack, sending dirt and grass flying in all directions as the attack narrowly missed Uzume.

"Now now, Mutsu, wouldn't you rather fight against me?" Kazehana asked as she blithely stepped in between the two combatants, halting them in the middle of their battle.

"Do I have a choice?" Mutsu sighed as he prepared himself once more for battle.

Kazehana did not answer, instead choosing to fire off a bolt of air at the ground underneath Mutsu, who realized instantly that the attack was coming and narrowly rolled out of the way, just as Kazehana's strike pulverized the ground in a small explosion of wind.

From their vantage point, Seo and his Sekirei watched in amazement as the two single numbers dueled, marveling in the pure strength with which they delivered their strikes. While all Sekirei knew that the single numbers were stronger than the average Sekirei, they had never imagined the disparity to be quite so pronounced.

"Say, why don't we get out of here?" Seo suggested to the injured Lightening Twins, who could only nod blankly as awe overtook them while Mutsu and Kazehana dueled back and forth.

* * *

Lelouch stepped forward into a clearing that seemed to be the end of the path, only to see a black haired teen already there, knelt close to the ground, with a brown haired woman that he instantly knew to be a Sekirei standing at the teen's side.

"Who are you?" The teen stammered, surprise written on his face.

"I should ask the same." Lelouch replied, cautiously moving forward with Toyotama eyeing the opposing Sekirei carefully.

The teen hesitated, clearly unsure whether or not he should comply, before he bowed his head and said, "Minato."

As the teen rose to his full height, Lelouch saw the shape of a young girl with a head of long blonde hair and wide green eyes wrapped up in Minato's arms. He seemed to be cradling the girl protectively, and it didn't take long for Lelouch to realize exactly who she was.

"That's the Green Girl, isn't it?" He asked, although he already knew the answer.

Upon hearing his words, Minato responded by pulling the girl even closer to him, "I won't let you take her."

"I don't think you have much of a choice." Lelouch replied coldly.

"I won't let her be winged by just anybody." Minato retorted with a surprising amount of fire.

"What are your intentions then? Why do you want her so badly?" Lelouch prodded.

"I…I just want to protect an innocent girl." Minato answered candidly, without any hitch in his voice.

"You're a bit too idealistic, don't you think?" Lelouch snarled, his mind flashing between images of Minato and Suzaku. Why was it that there were always those who were painfully ignorant of the consequences of their actions?

He raised arms up, "Look at this. We are fighting in a war right now. Do you really think that protecting one girl will really make a difference in the end?"

"We have to try, don't we?" Minato replied, and instantly, a memory came to Lelouch.

* * *

"_The results? Right, that's all that matters to you…" _

_Lelouch couldn't believe the words that were coming from Suzaku's mouth. Was this really the same boy that he had befriended as a child? For a second, he stood frozen as the cool wind kicked up and flapped his cape, the only sound breaking the silence between them. It was clear that, after all of these years, something had changed inherently about both of them. _

_They were no longer the same little boys that they used to be, no matter how much he longed for those days to return. Back when they weren't concerned about politics or war. Back when they lived their lives in ignorant bliss to the real world. _

_And maybe, Suzaku was still living his life that way. After all, that could be the only explanation for the lunacy that he was spewing. Change Britannia from within? What a ludicrous notion! Britannia was a nation of bigots who were never going to change their view on the Japanese, and no matter what Suzaku did, there was nothing he could do to change that. _

_So why was it that he wanted to believe in Suzaku? Was it due to some maudlin urge to still believe that he and Suzaku could be allies, as they once were, and not the enemies that they were now slated to become? _

_Despite the fact that he could effortlessly order the deaths of countless soldiers on the battlefield, he couldn't bring himself to disagree with Suzaku, the naïve idiot he was._

* * *

Lelouch shook his head, and chuckled dryly.

"You two really are too much alike." He muttered before he stepped to the side, "Take her."

"Lelouch, what are you doing? Didn't we come here to wing her?" Toyotama asked, confused by Lelouch's sudden change in heart.

"Minato, don't prove me wrong for believing in you." Lelouch stated as he turned around and began walking back down the path.

* * *

Kazehana found that, for the first time in a while, she was breaking a sweat during a fight as she parried Mutsu's slash with her own pseudo sword that she had constructed by manipulating the air in her hands. It didn't have the kind of sharp cutting power that steel did, but it served her purposes well by slowing down each of Mutsu's lightning quick attacks long enough for her to respond in turn.

The two of them moved back and forth, with their bodies nothing more than blurs as they each attempted to take the upper hand. However, to this point, neither one held a distinct advantage, and so they went, in a dizzying ballet that was both beautiful and deadly.

For Uzume however, there was no beauty in her fighting. It was brutal and savage, with her and Himeko going back and forth as well with piercing strikes that would have killed any normal person. But then again, they were not normal people.

She swung wildly with her veils, managing to catch enough of Himeko's face to cut a small gash on the girl's cheeks, adding to the multitude of cuts and bruises on both of their bodies. In retaliation, Himeko charged forward, quickly closing the gap in between them and slamming the dull portion of her blade into Uzume, forcing her to keel over and spit out a mouthful of blood.

Despite having the wind knocked out of her, Uzume refused to yield and reached out frantically, just managing to catch a fistful of Himeko's hair, allowing her to jerk the Sekirei's head down and smashing it into her knee, before she released her grip and allowed the dazed Himeko to stumble backwards with a bloody nose.

However, she had no time to catch her breath as Himeko charged back, despite her injury. She swung her blade with all of her force, and it took Uzume everything she had left to duck underneath the strike and plow forward with her veils, which rammed into Himeko and sent her flying up into the air. Uzume reached out and wrapped up the stunned Sekirei in a tight strip of white cloth and grunted in effort as she tossed Himeko into the ground viciously, hearing her crash into the ground with a satisfying thud.

Stepping back in relief, Uzume felt her legs turn to jelly and she collapsed to the ground, exhausted by the fight. All at once, the pounding in her ears began to subside and the adrenaline high she had been on faded, allowing her to feel the full extent of her injuries. As the dulled out pain began coming in waves of sharp pain, Uzume screamed in agony, as Himeko did the same from her own prone position on her back.

"Uzume!" Chiho exclaimed as she rushed to her Sekirei's side, falling to her knees as she inspected the damage that had been done to her. Uzume's body was covered in cuts, and her normally spotless skin was discolored with the rapidly forming bruises that dotted her limbs.

"I'm fine." Uzume managed, clamping her jaw together in a desperate attempt to stifle her own screams.

Chiho looked around desperately, for anyone who could help, when she saw Lelouch approaching through the haze of dust, with Toyotama in tow, as well as two strangers.

"Mikogami, that's enough. The Green Girl has already been claimed by someone." Lelouch growled at the teen, whose eyes narrowed in anger.

"Mikogami, we should retreat now. We're not at favorable odds with another Sekirei arriving." Mutsu advised as he and Kazehana stopped their fighting in an attempt to catch their breaths.

"We can't retreat again!" Mikogami pleaded, but he found that Mutsu's stare was hard and uncompromising.

"Fine." He muttered, "We're pulling out."

Lelouch made no move to stop them, and instead, turned to speak to Minato.

"Minato, trust me when I say that you cannot continue to be this naïve. If you continue to stay ignorant of the world's true machinations, you'll find yourself knocked out of the Sekirei Plan, or worse." Lelouch informed him sternly, to which Minato nodded in understanding.

"Come on, we're pulling back as well. We have no reason to stay any longer." Lelouch announced, already moving to leave the botanical gardens. He gestured to Toyotama, who rushed over to help Uzume to her feet.

"So, what's the truth behind letting that Ashikabi have the Green Girl?" Taki asked as she trotted up to Lelouch's side, barely keeping pace with his brisk walk. For his part, Lelouch did not slow down, but instead, glanced behind them to see that they were already a good distance away from the others.

Meeting Taki's emotionless gaze, Lelouch swore that he was talking to a certain green haired girl for a moment before he shook his head, "So, you saw right through it."

"Of course I did. Did you really expect me to believe that you would just give up a wingable Sekirei without any sort of fight? You searched me out and defeated Mikogami for the right to wing me, and while I would like to believe that it was because you have a special place in your heart for me, we both know that's not the truth." Taki replied with a knowing smirk on her face, "Which returns me to my original question. Exactly why did you give up the Green Girl?"

"It's simple diplomacy. Sometimes you have to give up a small piece to gain the whole pie." Lelouch chuckled, "I've let Minato know that I'm someone to be trusted, and that'll make it all the easier to turn him into a viable ally should the need arise. Looking at the frail thing that the Green Girl is, I doubt that she could have helped us regardless."

For a moment, Taki fell silent, pondering Lelouch's words. Her Ashikabi really was an enigma. One moment, he could be tender and caring with Chiho or Toyotama, and the next, he was callously treating others like worthless pawns to be tossed aside. Despite having a connection with him due to their bond as Sekirei and Ashikabi, Taki found that she still had a hard time deciphering his true intentions and thoughts most of the time.

Odd, because with most people, she was able to look through the haze of thoughts and emotions that usually swirled around in others' minds. It came with the territory of being a Sekirei who could manipulate fog, both physically and mentally. And yet, even when she made a concerted effort to cut through Lelouch's fog of emotion and thought to reach his inner mind, she found that was unable to make more than incremental progress.

But, she found that, even without knowing what his true plans were, or, perhaps because of that fact, being around Lelouch was infinitely more entertaining than any other fate she could have hoped for. Her curiosity had been piqued from the moment she had met him, and her interest had only increased with time. For now, she was just living in the moment with Lelouch in the hopes of surviving to see where he was going to take her on this journey of his. And she was loving every moment of it.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say that you were downright evil." Taki said with an amused grin, which Lelouch reciprocated with a smile that was equally as amused as it was devious.

"Oh, you haven't seen anything yet."

* * *

**Well, that ends Lelouch's first interaction with Minato! Rest assured, the two of them will definitely be interacting with each other much more as the story goes on, especially with the way that their relationship is much closer than they know at the present. You guys might have noticed that Yomi was absent from this chapter, and that was because I have no intention of her being terminated so early on, because she will have a part of some future events. **

**Also, how do you guys enjoy Taki's interactions with Lelouch? I feel like each of his Sekirei fall into a role, and Taki fits the sort of knowledgeable partner (in other words, C.C.) kind of role where she is usually the most informed about his plans and does some of the under the table stuff to allow him to succeed, while Toyotama is more of his enforcer, and Kazehana falls into a different role altogether. Hopefully, you guys like this kind of interaction, but if you don't, tell me!**

**Beyond that, I'm looking at an update at the usual time, and this time, it'll hopefully be much longer with a much easier writing period. This is a story I really want to finish, and I'm going to make sure it happens to the best of my abilities. **

**As usual, if you guys want to read more, tell me in a review or PM! I welcome any and all thoughts or ideas, as they can only help my writing. I hope you guys enjoyed this story so far, and thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Please don't hate me for the slow update! **

***Hides behind chair.**

* * *

Chapter 10

Lelouch grimaced as he took in his reflection in the mirror. Over the craziness that had ensued for the last week, he had little time to sleep, or even to take care of his personal hygiene, and it was showing in his appearance. His eyes were red with exhaustion, and his face with marked with specks of dirt that he had gained over the last few battles that he had taken place in. His clothes stuck to his body, dried on with sweat, and moving in general was uncomfortable, courtesy of overexerting himself. Now he was really regretting his decision to not take gym seriously.

Damn that Seo and his lightning twins. Before he faced them again, he was certainly going to his fair share of research, because he was sick and tired of running into battles blindly. The Sekirei Plan was a hectic war, but that didn't mean that there wasn't a place for planning. If anything, the rather unpredictable nature of encounters within the Sekirei Plan made it the perfect place to prepare in advance, so that one could be prepared for any situation.

He slid off his shirt with his deft fingers working across the buttons, revealing the various bruises that dotted his body and that were currently causing him great discomfort. Crinkling his nose is disgust, he tossed the shirt in a nearby trash can. It was now nothing more than a tattered rag at this point anyways, and with his unlimited MBI Card, he could purchase something more comfortable and less restricting in movement.

Speaking of MBI, he definitely had a few choice words for Minaka now, considering that the man had placed such an innocent and defenseless girl in the middle of a war zone. Did he have no morals or something? And beyond that, the way he had announced her location made it seem like he wanted the various Ashikabi to fight over her, if only to suffice as a form of twisted entertainment for him.

Sighing, Lelouch shook his head in frustration and stripped off his pants, leaving him in nothing more than his boxers when the door suddenly swung open and Kazehana stepped into the bathroom, wearing nothing more than a towel.

"Didn't I lock the door?" He shouted out as Kazehana seemed more amused than anything. Almost as if she had planned to come in, despite knowing that he was in here.

"Really? Didn't notice." She replied absent mindedly, although something told Lelouch that she was well aware of the fact that the door was lock, and had likely forced her way in regardless.

"And besides, shouldn't you be excited? I don't want to brag, but I think that my body is clearly the best in this house." She added with a confident smirk.

Well, he definitely couldn't deny that. With her ample bosom and curvaceous hips, it wasn't hard to see how a man could salivate over her. But of course, that's probably just what she would expect him to do, and so, he would have to remain aloof, no matter how difficult it was at the moment. His goal was still to make Kazehana his Sekirei, and it would make things easier if she did the winging herself.

"I don't have time for this. I've got work I need to do." He muttered, grabbing Kazehana by the shoulders and turning her around, so that she was facing the doorway.

"So, you're playing hard to get, huh?" Kazehana chuckled, "But you know, I'm not as dumb as you probably think I am."

"Of course you aren't." Lelouch replied, as if it were obvious.

Suddenly, Kazehana stopped both of them in place with a short blast of wind, "Oh, you don't think so?"

"Of course not. You were feared by Mikogami's Sekirei, who I know to be extremely powerful. Clearly, you're hiding something. Take it from someone who has worn a mask of his own before." He continued, stepping back from Kazehana, who tilted her head forward.

"So, do you want to tell me what you're hiding behind your mask?" She asked, a sly grin on her face.

Instantly, he bristled at her words, a detail that Kazehana didn't miss.

"Well, when you're ready anyways." She added, her expression contorting into one of understanding. She knew that there was something deeper that Lelouch did not want to tell her, and despite her curiosity, she would still respect his privacy.

Lelouch smiled softly, "I never figured you to be the sensitive type."

"Well, you know how to talk a girl up." She replied with a hint of flirtiness in her voice.

"Is that right?" Lelouch arched an eyebrow, "Then does that mean you've reconsidered my proposition?"

"Well, you are definitely a man, there's no doubt about that. And, as much as you don't want to admit it, you have a soft side hidden under your exterior, don't you?" Kazehana accused, slinking up to Lelouch and placing her hands on his chest.

He gulped slightly before replying, "Oh? What gave you that impression?"

"Well, Taki told me about how you've been sleeping with Toyotama, and how the poor girl's madly in love with you, and I saw with my own eyes how you treated that little girl in the Botanical Gardens." Kazehana listed off.

In the back of his mind, Lelouch made a mental note to have a serious talk with Taki about revealing that kind of information to outsiders.

"Don't worry, I love a sensitive man." She whispered breathily in his ear, while Lelouch desperately tried to keep his equanimity, which was getting harder to do by the second, "So it's fine, you can kiss me if you want."

"Will do." Lelouch growled before he smashed his lips onto Kazehana's, reveling in the sensation of power that it gave him as he winged his third Sekirei. For her part, Kazehana nearly cried out at the warmth that began coursing through her body, as the room was illuminated by the glow of her sprouting wings. She swore that she was seeing stars when their lips finally parted and the room returned to its darkened state, collapsing backwards, her legs feeling like jelly.

"So, do you want to tell me what really swayed you?" Lelouch asked, still reeling from the intensity of that kiss as well.

"Well, you have your secrets, and I have mine." Kazehana replied with a mischievous smile.

Before either of them could continue, they were interrupted by Chiho's voice from the floor below.

"Hey, Lelouch! I think you need to come down here to see this."

Lelouch frowned, upset that he had been interrupted in his interrogation of sorts, "We'll finish this later."

He ambled down the stairs to see all of the other occupants of the house huddled around the television in the living room. And on the screen stood the familiar figure of a certain chairman of a multinational pharmaceutical company.

"I have just received notice of the winging of Number 3, Kazehana!" He began, causing all of the heads in the room to suddenly swivel towards Lelouch, who kept his countenance. Of course he noticed the bemused smile that Taki was wearing, and he couldn't quite avoid Toyotama's acrid glare, but he did his best to simply stare forward at the screen.

"And with that, the Sekirei Plan can finally move into its next stage!" Minaka announced with a flourish of his hands.

"Next stage?" Lelouch whispered to himself.

"As of now, Tokyo will now be officially under MBI's control. The rules now are simple. Find the remaining ten percent of Sekirei and wing them. The New Age is upon us, so don't disappoint!" Minaka finished as the screen turned to black.

"Well, it looks like things are moving forward." Taki sighed, glancing at Lelouch, "What do you plan to do next?"

"What I've always done. Adapt." Lelouch replied frankly. He looked around the room before he gestured to the Sekirei, who nodded in acknowledgement and followed him as he left the living room and entered into the kitchen.

"Taki, what do you know about this Second Stage?" He asked, leaning up against the countertop.

She shrugged, "Well, MBI is supposed to seal off the city to prevent any Sekirei from escaping while the last few Sekirei are winged. I think that it's their intention to sort of weed out the weaker Ashikabi at this time as well. Unfortunately, that's all they informed us before we were released, so I can't say for certain if that's entirely accurate."

"No, that information's quite enough." Lelouch answered with a dismissive wave, "I know exactly what to do."

* * *

Kakizaki pushed up his glasses and groaned as he felt the onset of a migraine coming on, his fingers slipping off of the keyboard of his laptop and finding a place on his temple. They had been more and more frequent these past few days, likely as a result of his severe lack of sleep. Such was the life of the overworked secretary of Higa Izumi. It was a thankless job, whose only reward was the knowledge that he would one day be working as the secretary to the most powerful man in Japan, if all went according to plan.

"Master, maybe you should get to sleep." A gray haired woman with gray hair and a pair of red glasses chided softly from beside him, working on a laptop of her own. Although she was similarly overworked, she seemed to show none of the adverse effects that Kakizaki was displaying, and one look at the Sekirei crest on her neck was all the explanation that was needed.

"No, Kochou, I really should get this done." Kakizaki replied, shaking off the dull throbbing and continuing to clack away at the keys, trying in vain to type up the report that Higa had asked for earlier. The two of them had been at it for days ever since Minaka had made his announcement that he Sekirei Plan had moved into its second stage, compiling information on every Ashikabi and Sekirei that had been revealed to them so far, until they had a comprehensive file on almost every individual involved in the Sekirei Plan.

It all fit together like a puzzle in most circumstances, and that meant that, for the most part, the other Ashikabi were easy pickings for a large faction such as theirs. And of the individuals that posed any sort of threat to them, Kakizaki had made sure that there had been no stone left unturned in background checks, medical records, anything that could pinpoint a weakness.

Currently, the last two files that needed some polishing up were the ones on Minato Sahashi, and Lelouch vi Britannia. They had found the information on both of them to be readily available, especially for the latter. But, nonetheless, it was an intriguing file, and it was the only one that was presenting any significant challenge to piece together a narrative.

The details just didn't add up. According to medical records, Lelouch vi Britannia was born as the illegitimate son of Marianne vi Britannia and Minaka Hiroto. After that, he had lived a relatively normal life, having attended public school for all of his life before finding a job as a delivery boy, where he was injured and brought into the hospital, where his lineage was discovered.

But then, the facts didn't seem to match the man. When they had met Lelouch, they had met a well cultured and articulate Ashikabi, who seemed perfectly comfortable with meeting someone of Higa's stature without backing down in the slightest. Was there any way that someone who had lived such an unspectacular life could have made such a bold gesture? And then, there was that smile. That cunning and devious smile that he had flashed for an instant and had sent chills down his spine. Nothing could have explained how someone of that sort of demeanor was just an average student who had directly entered the workforce.

On the other hand, when he looked at the file for someone like Oosumi Orihiko, he had found all of the details that he needed to piece together a coherent picture of the man. Here was a computer genius who was looking for a challenge outside of Tokyo University, which was frankly below his level of intelligence. He had no immediate family, and thus, it was easy to see why he had latched onto his Sekirei so tightly, and his skills made it clear exactly how he had stayed ahead of all of the other single Sekirei Ashikabi in the city. He had a clear story, and it was easy to explain.

And that was why Kakizaki was on the verge of another migraine as he struggled to discover anything in the psychological profile of Lelouch vi Britannia that could explain how the man became who he was when they had first met him.

Suddenly, the chime of his email sounded, informing of him of a new message. Intrigued, he clicked on the email, to find it addressed from someone named Zero.

* * *

Taki played with a strand of her silver hair, wrapping it around her finger, and then unwinding it in a rhythmic motion, over and over again as she sat in a chair in the small dining room of their house. The table was just barely large enough to seat about eight people comfortably, but that wasn't an issue as the meeting they were about to hold would not require the use of more than six seats in total.

She glanced across her seat at the table at the only guest who had arrived so far. He was a young man with short, messy black hair that was currently fiddling around on his phone, while his Sekirei, a young woman in a shrine maiden outfit who wielded a rather dangerous looking Naginata, stood respectfully behind him, with a ramrod straight posture. If it wasn't for the fact that Toyotama was also in the vicinity, standing at the side of Lelouch's seat, then Taki would have admitted that she would have been a bit intimidated by the Sekirei, who had a stern expression on her face.

She could tell that, despite the implicit agreement that the location would be a neutral zone, that the Sekirei and her Ashikabi were still on guard, and she didn't blame them. Lelouch on his own was intimidating enough, but add on Toyotama and Kazehana, who was capable of being a force in her own right, and you suddenly had a very formidable team on your hands. And that was before mentioning Chiho and Uzume, who were currently guarding the front door and acting as greeters for the guests that should be arriving soon.

Just then, a roar of a motorcycle engine shattered the silence of the room, indicating that yet another member was now in attendance. She heard the stomping of boots, announcing the arrival of a black haired man in a leather jacket, accompanied by three enthusiastic Sekirei who were fawning over him, gestures that he returned shamelessly, despite being in full view of the other occupants of the room. Well, it was nice to know that he was treating them well, at least.

"So, when is this meeting going to get started?" The man yawned, already bored by the lack of action and excitement. Taki could see that he wasn't the type to think before he acted, which meant that it wouldn't be hard at all to maneuver their way around him. Sanada was not going to be the issue at this meeting.

No, the true power players had yet to arrive.

"Wait a second, why do _you_ have to be here?" A familiar voice rang out.

"I'm asking myself the same question." A cool, yet strained voice replied.

In stepped two bickering men, both flanked by an entourage of Sekirei. Taki counted three each, and that was before accounting for the assistant that had come with one of them.

"Mikogami, Izumi, take your seats." Lelouch interrupted, stopping the two in the middle of their argument. Glaring at each other, they made certain to sit on opposite sides of the table, with Higa deciding to take his seat next to Taki.

"You know that your Ashikabi is insane, calling together so many Sekirei in one location. If even one thing goes wrong, we could be looking at a war right now." He whispered to Taki, who shrugged her shoulders. Knowing Lelouch, this was a calculated risk that he had deemed necessary, and thus, she had chosen not to question his decision.

"Sorry for coming so late!"

All heads in the room swiveled to look at the last person to arrive, a black haired teen with a sheepish smile on his face.

"Nonsense, Minato. We weren't ready to start regardless." Lelouch greeted, motioning for Minato to take his seat, which he readily did.

As soon as Minato sat down, Lelouch stood up from his seat at the head of the table, "Now that we're all here, I would like to call everyone's attention to the purpose of this meeting. We're all familiar with the Berlin Conference, I assume?"

"That's the meeting between the European powers that discussed the division of power in Africa, correct?" Minato said with a distinct lack of certainty. Taki glanced at the teen in surprise. It seemed that he was perhaps a bit smarter than his personality let on.

"And what does that have to do with us?" The black haired teen from before asked. Taki closed her eyes as she attempted to recall what details she knew about him. Oosumi Orihiko and his Sekirei, Number 87, Kaho, were generally considered to be one of the more mysterious pairings in the Sekirei Plan. The two of them had appeared out of nowhere to decimate a number of Sekirei who had made the mistake of picking a fight with them. Curiously, by all accounts, they had yet to instigate a fight themselves, and now, with the word of mouth that was going around, it seemed that it would be a long time before they would be challenged again.

"Well, I've assembled the Six Ashikabi who would be considered the major powers playing this game at this stage. Think of it as a show of respect for each of you to be invited to this conference." Lelouch remarked, clearly trying to be diplomatic in his approach.

Taki stifled a laugh as each of the respective attendants suddenly sat up a bit straighter at his words. All people were the same. Just give them a little compliment, and suddenly, they are much more agreeable to your words. Lelouch was doing just that, simultaneously massaging their egos while making them more pliable to his suggestions. The man was a politician if she had ever seen one.

"So, in the spirit of accordance with history, I propose that we divide Tokyo amongst ourselves, and eliminate lesser Ashikabi from the picture." Lelouch continued, nodding to Toyotama, who laid out a map on the table. It was an accurate rendering of Tokyo, with a comprehensive diagram of the subway system laid out on top of the normal map of the city.

"Well, I can't say that I'm adverse to the idea." Higa admitted from his seat, with Mikogami nodding in agreement.

Lelouch gave an amused chuckle, "Of course, the only issue is deciding who will own which part of the city."

"Well then, this is where I leave you boys to debate amongst yourselves." Taki sighed, standing up from her seat. She shared a look with Lelouch for the slightest of moments before she left the room, catching bits and pieces of the conversation that had sprung up with her exit.

Of course, things were going just as they had anticipated, from the sound of things. As expected, Higa and Lelouch were dominating the discussion, making the proposals on behalf of the other members. Orihiko was inserting his incisive comments that somewhat mitigated the authority that the two were exerting, while Minato stayed silent, too afraid to assert himself. Sanada and Mikogami were in over their heads, but they did attempt to make their own suggestions, falling on deaf ears.

"Taki, is it?" She stopped in her tracks, noticing the gray haired woman who had been following her.

"Kochou." The woman introduced herself, "Number 22."

"You came with Higa, correct?" Taki replied, distinctly remembering the appearance of the Sekirei upon Higa's arrival.

"Yes. My true Master is Kakizaki, but I serve Higa for all intents and purposes." Kochou explained, outlining her odd relationship with her Ashikabi.

"Well then, Kochou, what did you want to discuss?" Taki asked suspiciously, aware that Sekirei did not normally approach each other without a valid reason. Usually, it was to initiate a fight, but in these circumstances and considering that neither of them seemed to be physically oriented, she severely doubted that a fight was in order.

"The real reason for this meeting. There's no way that someone as opportunistic as your Ashikabi would willingly abdicate any of his power without good reason." Kochou insisted.

Taki smiled, "You know him too well then. Unfortunately, you'll have to do better than that to get me to reveal anything substantial. And don't try asking Kazehana or Toyotama. As of now, I'm the only one who knows his true motivations, and I intend on keeping it that way."

Kochou sighed and shook her head in disappointment, "I figured as much."

"Then we don't have much reason to continue talking, do we?" Taki replied curtly, intending to leave.

"Well, I'll leave you with this: I hope you know who exactly you're dealing with here, because I don't intend to allow Higa to lose this war." Kochou said confidently.

Taki nodded, "Same here. But I hope for your sake that you don't underestimate the other Ashikabi, because each of them is dangerous in their own right."

"I'll look forward to seeing what you have in store for us." Kochou answered, and with that, the two headed their separate ways.

Taki grimaced as she left her encounter with Higa's strategist. The whole experience had left a sour taste in her mouth, and she couldn't wait to put Kochou's words to the test. But first, there were preparations to make, enemies to misdirect, and contracts to be made under the table. Their true plans had yet to be revealed.

To no one in particular, Taki whispered under her breath, "What we have in store for you? Oh, you cannot imagine."

End of Act One

* * *

**Well, I hope that this chapter recaptured your interest! Again, I apologize for the long delay, but it really took me a long time to decide what direction this fic was going to go. Personally, I liked the idea of the main Ashikabi splitting up the city between themselves and acting like warlords. Treachery, secret deals and alliances, power plays, and all out warfare make for some compelling storylines, or at least, that's my hope. But tell me if you guys like this direction. I want to make it different from just the generic "Main Character gets a harem and fights Minaka to keep said harem" plot, and I think that this was my best solution for doing so. **

**Also, I made the decision to focus more time on Taki, because she is essentially the C.C. to Lelouch in this story, acting as his right hand man while Toyotama provides some of the muscle and Kazehana does Kazehana things. I just feel like she is more interesting, and she will definitely become more important, especially as her rivalry develops with Kochou and Matsu in a Three Kingdoms sort of way between Sima Yi, Zhuge Liang, and Zhou Yu/Lu Meng. As for who's who, I'll let you decide. **

**As for the whole Meeting of the Powers thing, I always imagined Lelouch to be a bit like Bismarck, and for Higa to fall into the Cecil Rhodes mold. Just to be clear, the meeting took place about a week after the Second Stage started, so it's not immediately following the announcement, despite how the chapter was structured. Also, for the record, I'm glad for the whole backstory that has been offered up by the manga for Oosumi, because it gives me a reason to place someone else as a member of the Four Ashikabi, since I never really bought Sanada as that serious of a threat. When compared to Higa, Mikogami, and Minato, he just doesn't really fit. At least with Oosumi, there's the explanation that he's a hacker and pretty damn intelligent, so I could buy him as a major power more.**

**Anyways, as usual, please review or PM if you guys have any thoughts or ideas! Thanks for sticking with me!**


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